"Centaure et centauresse".

Drawing, charcoal, 36,5 x 33,7 cm, paper, signed at lower left "OD. REDON".

Under passe-partout, orn. gilt frame.

The French symbolist painter Odilon Redon (1840-1916) had always been attracted to the mystical elements of Greek-Roman mythological creatures, enthralled in hybrity. "To Redon monsters and strange creatures became extended metaphors for his century's twarted desire to control knowledge. Cast in blackness, unrelieved by color, they managed to create a narrative through lack of pigment alone" (Van Zuylen 2005, p. 58). These centaurs seem to exist within a desolate and isolated world of serenity in which the figures are reduced to their rudimentary forms, making way for the dark psychological depth of the inner world. The work was conceived at a time when Redon was starting to have a growing influence on the Belgian artists of Les XX, particularly on the work of Xavier Mellery and Fernand Khnopff. The drawing has been featured in numerous international renowned exhibitions (see list below).
Ref. A. Wildenstein, "Odilon Redon, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint et dessiné", Paris 1994, vol. II, p. 265, no. 1243. - M. Van Zuylen, "The Secret Life of Monsters", in: J. Hauptman (ed.), "Beyond the Visible: The Art of Odilon Redon", New York 2005. - X. Canonne, "Coloured Skins", Knokke (Galerie Ronny Van de Velde) 2015, pp. 32-33.- J. Ceuleers, "Henry van de Velde en zijn tijdgenoten", Knokke (Galerie Ronny Van de Velde) 2018, pp. 112-113.
Prov. Amboise Vollard, Paris. - Steven Higgins, Paris. - The Ian Woodner Family Collection, New York. - Galerie Ronny Van de Velde.
Exhib. Neuss, Clemens-Sels Museum, 1965, no. 6. - Paris, Palais Galliera, 1971. - London, Hayward Gallery, 1972, no. 257.- Madrid, Museo Español de Art contemporáneo en Barcelona, Museo de Arte Moderno, 1973, no. 98, 208.- Jerusalem, The Israel Museum, 1985, p. 66.- München, Villa Stück, 1986. - Minneapolis, Institute of Arts, 1987. - Berkeley, University Art Museum, 1987. - Washington D.C., The Phillips Collection, 1988, no. 45. - Portland, Museum of Art, 1988.- Tokyo, The National Museum of Modern Art, 1989. - Kobe, The Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Modern Art and Nagoya, Aichi Prefectural Art Gallery, 1989, no. 25. - Barcelona, Museu Picasso, 1989, no. 57. - Madrid, Fundación Juan March, 1990, no. 65. - Memphis, The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, 1990, no. 56. - Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria, 1990, no. 56. - Lausanne, Fondation de l'Hermitage, 1992. - Paris, Musée Marmottan, 1992, no. 94. - Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, 2009, no. 110. - Knokke, Galerie Ronny Van de Velde, 2015 and 2018.