France, 20th century / 1916
Vase of Flowers
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Vase of Flowers as drawing (France, 20th century · 1916).
Redon was inspired to depict flowers after meeting the botanist Armand Clavaud, a cataloguer of plant species in the artist's native region of Bordeaux
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this drawing as pastel and credits Odilon Redon (French, 1840–1916).
The museum's collection notes: Inspired by Cleveland’s groundbreaking acquisitions of Odilon Redon’s artworks during the 1920s, local philanthropist and collector Leonard C. Hanna Jr. purchased this luminous pastel of a floral still life in 1937. Hanna acquired it from Jacques Seligmann, a dealer based in New York City and Paris who was fundamental in bringing 19th-century French art to American audiences. In 1939, Hanna loaned the pastel to the New York World’s Fair, where it represented Redon’s work. Those who saw it there were attracted to the vivid color and timeless subject, which preoccupied the artist at the end of his life.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtVase of FlowersOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.