France, early 20th Century / 1910
Violette Heymann
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Violette Heymann as drawing (France, early 20th Century · 1910).
This pastel was acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art in the same year as several other works by Redon, leading arts writers to describe Cleveland as holding the most important works by the artist outside of Paris at the time.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this drawing as pastel on gray wove paper and credits Odilon Redon (French, 1840–1916).
The museum's collection notes: Although he was known early in his career for works primarily in black and white, such as charcoal drawings and lithographs, Odilon Redon turned to more colorful media, including pastel, later on. In particular, he focused on commissioned pastel portraits of women with flowers, such as this one. Here, the young niece of the Parisian collector Marcel Kapferer appears alongside colorful blossoms as she looks forward, focused as if in the dreamlike state evoked by her surroundings.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtViolette HeymannOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.