Odilon Redon’s noir drawings: characterization of materials and methods using noninvasive imaging and spectroscopies

Abstract

The artist Odilon Redon (1840–1916) was a French symbolist known for both the dark, surreal prints and drawings he created in the first half of his career, as well as the colorful pastel works that characterized the second half of his career. This study examines two drawings by Redon in the J. Paul Getty Museum collection—Apparition (ca. 1880–1890) and Head within an Aureole (ca. 1894–1895)—executed during the period in his career in which he was transitioning between these two modes. In order to better understand the materials the artist chose and the methods by which he applied them, two noninvasive, macroscopic characterization techniques—macro X-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) scanning and reflectance imaging spectroscopy (RIS)—were employed. These techniques allowed the materials present to be distinguished and the relationship between their applications visualized. Coupled with fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) and Raman microspectroscopy with principal component analysis (PCA), these results give new insight into the materials and methods used by Redon. Six distinct black drawing materials and a yellow pastel were identified in Apparition, underscoring the complexity of Redon’s noir drawings. As he began using color pastel more frequently he seemed to use a simplified black palette; in Head within an Aureole the artist used only two black drawing materials and three color pastels (two pink and one blue). This research provides a framework for future noninvasive technical analysis of works by Redon in other collections as well as mixed media drawings more generally.