Study of Man between Trees

Odilon Redon

1860–80 · Medium unknown · Drawings and Prints

This spare portrayal of a V-shaped tree finds formal echoes across the composition, from the stump at left to the spindly plant in the foreground. The retreating, isolated figure bracketed by the central tree and hollowed-out stump lends an air of melancholy to the drawing. Trees were a constant and significant motif for the Symbolist artist and one especially associated with the region of his childhood, Médoc, in the southwest of France. With the ship in the distance, locating this view on the coast, it seems a likely source of inspiration for this scene too.

Artist

Odilon Redon

Date

1860–80

Medium

Medium unknown

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1962