Saint Anthony...he must have some part of these primordial forms... 19th-20th century

Editor: This print by Odilon Redon, titled "Saint Anthony...he must have some part of these primordial forms...", presents a rather unsettling image. What cultural symbols do you see at play here? Curator: The isolated eye, staring out from an organic form, speaks to a persistent human fascination with the gaze, with consciousness itself. Redon draws upon a deep well of cultural memory, echoing the Cyclops, perhaps, or even the all-seeing eye of divinity. What does it evoke for you? Editor: I see something almost embryonic, like a creature gestating, not quite formed but full of potential, or threat. Curator: Indeed. The work taps into primal anxieties. Redon, working in a time of great social and scientific upheaval, used such imagery to explore the fragility of human perception and the persistence of ancient, unsettling archetypes. Editor: I hadn’t considered the unease of his time. It makes the image more resonant. Curator: The image remains powerful.