“The Egg” is a notable work by the artist Odilon Redon, created in the year 1885. The medium of the artwork is charcoal on paper, which falls under the symbolic painting genre, reflecting the tenets of the Symbolist art movement. The artwork is housed in the National Museum of Serbia, located in Belgrade, Serbia.
The artwork presents a compelling and enigmatic vision, depicting a large egg positioned within a dark goblet or chalice. The egg is open at the top, and from within, two human eyes gaze out, lending a surreal and sentient quality to the object. The background features a textured gradient, ranging from lighter tones near the egg to a deep, shadowy perimeter that appears to enclose the focal image in a hazy atmosphere. The stark contrast and the abstract theme invoke a profound sense of mystery and introspection, common characteristics of Symbolist art, which seeks to express the ineffable aspects of human experience and the hidden emotional realities that lie beneath the surface of the physical world.