Odilon Redon’s “Flower Clouds” is a pastel cloudscape created around 1903. Measuring 445 × 542 mm, the artwork consists of blue-gray wove paper with multicolored fibers altered to tan. The artist used touches of stumping, incising, and brushwork in this piece.
Redon’s love for the sea reflects in his work as he often regretted not being born at sea. The simplicity of the flowers in this still-life represents what he spoke. “Flower Clouds” is part of a series consisting of several artworks by Redon.
This beautiful pastel was purchased by Leonard C. Hanna Jr. in 1937 inspired by Cleveland’s acquisitions of Redon’s artworks. It currently resides at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.