Buddha
Odilon Redon (1840 - 1916), 1904
distemper on canvas, 159.8 cm x 121.1 cm
Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (State of the Netherlands)
Redon was fascinated by Buddhism. In this work, he used the most vibrant hues to depict the fantasy flora and fauna surrounding the meditating Buddha. The figure merges almost seamlessly with the colourful vegetation, suggesting that what we see is a vision from the Buddha’s inner world.
Redon created this and other decorative panels for the home of the collector Andries Bonger. Buddha filled an entire wall beside a window in Bonger’s house and was an integral part of the interior. To enhance the effect of a mural, Redon framed the panels with thin wooden slats without glazing. In doing so, he clearly distinguished them from his smaller paintings, which he placed behind glass in gilded frames.
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- Object number
- s0465N1996
- Dimensions
- 159.8 cm x 121.1 cm, 162 cm x 123.3 cm, 4 cm
- Provenance
- Sold by the artist, Paris to Andries Bonger, Amsterdam for FRF 700, August 1905; after his death on 20 January 1936 inherited by his widow, Françoise W.M. Bonger-van der Borch van Verwolde, Amsterdam; after her death in 1975 bequeathed to her heirs, the Netherlands; sold by these heirs to the State of the Netherlands to be placed in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 18 December 1996.
- artist
- Odilon Redon
- Credits
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (State of the Netherlands)
Odilon Redon en Emile Bernard. Meesterwerken uit de collectie van Andries Bonger, 10 April-20 September 2009, no. 112
Odilon Redon 1840-1916: Tekeningen, Litho's, Pastels en Schilderijen uit Nederlands bezit, 1 December 1984-20 January 1985, no. 42
Odilon Redon, 27 November 1983-22 January 1984, no. geen catnr. / no cat. no.
Odilon Redon, 20 September-13 November 1983, no. geen catnr. / no cat. no.
André Bonger en zijn kunstenaarsvrienden: Redon, Bernard, Van Gogh, 6 June-6 August 1972, no. 3
Odilon Redon, 3 May-23 June 1957, no. 202
Odilon Redon, October 1956-January 1957, no. 186
Tentoonstelling van Odilon Redon: Schilderijen, tekeningen, litho’s, 26 March-4 April 1948, no. 21
Catalogus der tentoonstelling van werken van Odilon Redon (alles particulier bezit), 7-14 May 1909, no. 34
Salon d’automne, 2ième exposition, 15 October-15 November 1904, no. niet in catalogus
Christine en Janus van Zeegen, Zwolle, 2024, pp. 103, 105
« Sans adieu » : Andries Bonger – Odilon Redon : correspondance 1894-1916, Paris, 2022
Gamboni, Dario, Redon retrouvé : oeuvres et documents inédits, Paris, 2022, pp. 328, 334-335
Masterpieces in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 2019, p. 160
Meesterwerken in het Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 2019, p. 160
Decoration and symbolism in the late works of Odilon Redon, Iowa City, 2013, pp. 81, 124, 159–160, 170–171, 362
Dreams of nature : symbolism from Van Gogh to Kandinsky, Brussel, 2012, pp. 100-101
Gedroomde landschappen : symbolisme van Van Gogh tot Kandinsky, Brussel, 2012, pp. 100-101
Odilon Redon and Emile Bernard : masterpieces from the Andries Bonger collection, Amsterdam, 2009, pp. 76, 123
Odilon Redon en Emile Bernard : meesterwerken uit de collectie van Andries Bonger, Amsterdam, 2009, pp. 73, 76, 123
Odilon Redon : as in a dream, Ostfildern, 2007, pp. 95–102, 108–109
A technical examination of Odilon Redon's paintings from the Bonger collection, Van Gogh Museum, pp. 67-69, 72-78, p. 80, n.5 en p. 81, n.21
The French collection : nineteenth-century French paintings in Dutch public collections, Amsterdam, 2000, pp. 269-270
Leeman, Fred, Vroege verzamelaars van Redon in Nederland, pp. 24, 28
Odilon Redon : catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint et dessiné, Paris, 1992-1998, vol. 1: p. 267
Japonisme : the Japanese influence on Western art since 1858, London, 1985, pp. 156, 270
Odilon Redon 1840-1916, Bordeaux, 1985, pp. 22, 230
Odilon Redon 1840-1916 : tekeningen, litho's, pastels en schilderijen uit Nederlands bezit, Enschede, 1984, p. 19
Odilon Redon, Winterthur ; Fribourg, cop. 1983, pp. 226, 251
André Bonger en zijn kunstenaarsvrienden Redon, Bernard, Van Gogh, Amsterdam, 1972, p. 14
The Bonger collection at Almen, Holland, p. 401
Odilon Redon : Phantasie und Farbe, Köln, 1964
Odilon Redon, Gustave Moreau, Rodolphe Bresdin, New York, 1961
Lettres de Gauguin, Gide, Huysmans, Jammes, Mallarmé, Verhaeren à Odilon Redon, Paris, 1960, p. 294, n. 3
Openstelling collectie A. Bonger, p. 136
Lettres d'Odilon Redon (1878-1916), Paris [etc.], 1923, pp. 61–62
Visites au salon d’automne : II. – les invités : Renoir. – Odilon Redon. – Cézanne. – Paul de Troubetzkoy. – A.-A. Hébrard, p. 2