Portrait of Yseult Fayet 1908

Odilon Redon made this dreamy pastel portrait of Yseult Fayet. I can only imagine what it was like for Redon to create this portrait, a kind of floating world where the young Yseult is surrounded by a vibrant garden. The marks are chalky, soft, and blurry, creating a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere. The blue is intense like Yves Klein, offset by a warm, earthy palette, like Bonnard. A single stroke defines the curve of her face, her expression captured with delicate precision. Redon's marks are so intuitive, so in touch with the way the pastel crumbles on the page. I am reminded of other artists, like Frantisek Kupka, who embraced abstraction as a means to explore the spiritual and emotional dimensions of art. It's easy to see how Redon and others paved the way for future generations, encouraging us to see painting as a form of embodied expression.