GODS
AND
MONSTERS
Hauntings
THE EXPLORATION AND DEPICTION of the unknown is a Grandville has drawn a scurrying zoo of half-known demons
classical and constant occupation for the artist. Children are and animals that appear to have been stolen from the glass
also delighted to invent a monster or ghoul. Our subconscious eye of the microscope. The monsters of Bosch grew from his
can be drawn with pleasure and ease. Redon's eyeball balloon observations of beggars going about their trade in 15th- and
rises up, lifting its cranial passenger over a seascape of repose. 16th-century Holland. Here we see how he evolved their
They float toward us like a horrid visitation. We may feel safe injuries into new limbs and warped proportions, which
so long as the eye looks heavenward. If it were to turn and sometimes—half-dressed and carrying a familiar trophy—
stare this way, the shock would be extreme. stride, crawl, and scuttle over all known reality.
ODILON REDON
French painter draftsman, graphic
artist, and writer In contrast to
the light and visual accent of
contemporary Impressionism, Redon
explored the darker side of the
human imagination through symbols
and mysticism. He was influenced
by his friends, the writers Joris-Karl
Huysmans and Stephane Mallarme.Erasure In this charcoal drawing, to the
right of the balloon, we see parallel slanting
pale marks that might have been made
with fresh bread—a very effective eraser
used before the wide availability of rubber
or plastic. Compare worked textures
throughout the whole of this image to
those found throughout Anita Taylor's
charcoal drawing on p. 115.Lifting out Fine strings of the hot-air
balloon appear dark against the sky and
light against the balloon. Redon lifted them
out with some sort of eraser, as he did the
grass, below left. Techniques demonstrated
on pp.204-05 will enable you to produce
a similar effect of white lines shining out
of dark charcoal.The Eye Like a Strange Balloon
Mounts Toward Infinity
1882
165 / 8 x 131 / 8 in (422 x 332 mm)
ODILON REDON