Jacob Wrestling with the Angel 1907

Odilon Redon, whoever he was, painted ‘Jacob Wrestling with the Angel’ with oil on canvas. There is a glow that comes from within, as though the two figures were illuminated from behind by the sun. What must it have been like, painting this? I imagine Redon, a brush in hand, conjuring a dream-like narrative. It’s hard to work with the figure, to make it feel like it belongs in the world and in the picture at the same time. I often struggle with this in my own paintings, where I try to reconcile representation and abstraction. Here, there is a tension between figuration and pure atmosphere, as if he is as interested in the drama of the encounter as he is in the landscape in which it takes place. It’s like he knows that these things are connected and is playing with them. And isn’t that the best thing about painting? It never gives you fixed answers. It keeps you in the process.