Baronne Robert de Domecy

Odilon Redon's 'Baronne Robert de Domecy' (1900) is a portrait by a painter who was primarily known for his symbolic, visionary subjects — his engagement with portraiture was less central to his practice than his fantastical and decorative subjects, but his portraits maintained the same luminous, atmospheric quality that distinguished all his work. The Baronne de Domecy was connected to the Symbolist circle that surrounded Redon, and his portrait of her created an image that hovered between conventional social portraiture and his characteristic visionary world.

Redon renders the Baronne with the luminous, atmospheric quality that characterized all his work — the portrait's face and figure depicted with the same delicate color sensitivity he brought to his pastel fantasies and flower subjects, creating an image that was simultaneously a social portrait and a characteristic Redon atmospheric creation. His handling of the figure within its setting creates the softly luminous atmosphere that was his most immediate formal quality.