Et le lia pour mille ans 1899

Odilon Redon rendered this lithograph, "Et le lia pour mille ans," using the symbolic language of dreams and nightmares. The dominant visual element is the serpent, coiled and chained, emerging from darkness. The serpent, an ancient symbol, carries a rich, bifurcated history. It's a symbol of healing and wisdom in the Caduceus, yet also of temptation and chaos in the Garden of Eden. Consider the Laocoön, entwined by serpents, writhing in agony. The serpent's power transcends cultures. Bound as it is here, the image evokes the idea of suppressed instincts, a theme that echoes through art history, from the medieval bestiaries to the Freudian psychoanalysis of dreams. The act of binding, of repression, is itself a motif, a recurring gesture in the theater of the human psyche. Redon’s work, in its shadowy depths, reminds us that these archaic symbols are not static relics, but living forces, constantly shifting in meaning, resurfacing in our collective consciousness.