She draws from her bosom a sponge, perfectly black, and covers it with kisses (plate 8) (1896) by Odilon Redon

She draws from her bosom a sponge, perfectly black, and covers it with kisses (plate 8) - Odilon Redon - 1896

Artwork Information

TitleShe draws from her bosom a sponge, perfectly black, and covers it with kisses (plate 8)
ArtistOdilon Redon
Date1896
Mediumlithography,paper
Art MovementSymbolism

About She draws from her bosom a sponge, perfectly black, and covers it with kisses (plate 8)

The artwork “She draws from her bosom a sponge, perfectly black, and covers it with kisses (plate 8)” by Odilon Redon was created in 1896 as part of a series titled “The Temptation of Saint Anthony.” This particular piece was executed using lithography on paper and can be categorized within the Symbolism movement. The genre of this work is symbolic painting, which often seeks to represent underlying philosophical ideas, emotions, and states of mind.

The artwork depicts a figure, shrouded in a veil, holding a dark sponge to their lips as if bestowing kisses upon it. The background is softly etched, creating an ethereal and dreamlike atmosphere that is characteristic of Redon’s style and the Symbolist movement. This movement aimed to express the more mystical and intangible aspects of human experience, and this image embodies that goal with its enigmatic subject and dusky mystique. The figure’s obscured face and the unusual act of kissing an inanimate object invite introspection and interpretations that delve beyond the physical world into the realm of the imagined and the symbolic.

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