In Heaven or Closed Eyes
Currently on view
Odilon Redon (1840 - 1916), 1889
oil on cardboard, 45 cm x 35 cm
Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (State of the Netherlands)
This woman with her closed eyes is an intriguing figure. She symbolizes Redon’s views on art. Essentially, he wanted to turn his gaze inwards. Undistracted by visible reality, he found the true inspiration for his art in that inner world. The woman’s halo underlines the spiritual resonance of the image.
In 1889, Odilon Redon noted the sale of this painting to Theo van Gogh in his account book. He was still calling it In Heaven at that time. Later, he gave it its present title: Closed Eyes. In 1890, Theo also bought a print featuring one of Redon’s many variations on the same theme.
Download the full catalogue entry (pdf, 1.8 MB)
- Object number
- s0500N1999
- Dimensions
- 45 cm x 35 cm, 74.3 cm x 64.5 cm
- Provenance
- Sold by the artist, Paris, to Theo van Gogh, Paris for FRF 200, 8 July 1889; after his death on 25 January 1891 transferred by his widow Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Bussum to his sister Willemina van Gogh; sold by Willemina van Gogh, probably through Joan van Houten, to Andries Bonger, Amsterdam, between March and August 1907; 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; donated by these heirs to the State of the Netherlands to be placed in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 18 December 1999.
- artist
- Odilon Redon
- Credits
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (State of the Netherlands)
Copenhagen, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Odilon Redon. Into the dream, 11 October 2018-20 January 2019
Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum, Odilon Redon: Literatuur en Muziek, 2 June-9 September 2018
Riehen, Fondation Beyeler, Odilon Redon, 2 February-18 May 2014, no. zonder nr.
Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Surrealism and the dream, 8 October 2013-14 January 2014, no. 14
Madrid, Fundación MAPFRE, Odilon Redon, 11 February-29 April 2012, no. 51
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Odilon Redon en Emile Bernard : meesterwerken uit de collectie van Andries Bonger, 10 April-20 September 2009, no. 100
Gifu, Museum of Fine Arts Gifu, Odilon Redon : le souci de l'absolu, 8 October-8 December 2002, no. 122
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Odilon Redon : Prince of Dreams, 1840-1916, 20 October 1994-15 January 1995, no. Niet in catalogus
Enschede, Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Odilon Redon 1840-1916 : tekeningen, litho's, pastels en schilderijen uit Nederlands bezit, 1 December 1984-20 January 1985, no. 18
The Hague, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Odilon Redon, 3 May-23 June 1957, no. 172
Arnhem, Vereniging voor Beeldende Kunst Arnhem, Tentoonstelling van Odilon Redon, 26 March-4 April 1948, no. 7
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Moderne Kunst Kring: Ouvrages de peinture, sculpture, dessin, gravure: exposée au Musée Municipal Suasso, 6 October-7 November 1912, no. 107
Amsterdam, Larensche Kunsthandel, Tentoonstelling van werken van Odilon Redon, 7-14 May 1909, no. 35
The Hague, Haagsche Kunstkring, Odilon Redon, May-June 1894, no. 1
Brussels, Les Vingt, Les XX. VIIe exposition annuelle, 18 January-23 February 1890, no. 1
Stolwijk, Chris, Veenenbos, H., Heugten, Sjraar van, The account book of Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger, 2002, pp. 16, 43, 200
Groot, I.M. de, André Bonger en zijn kunstenaarsvrienden Redon, Bernard, Van Gogh, 1972, p. 16
Synnestvedt, D., Faith and learning at Bryn Athyn College of the New Church, 2004, pp. 97-98
Vergeest, Aukje, The French collection : nineteenth-century French paintings in Dutch public collections, 2000, p. 274
Inhoudelijk jaarverslag 1999 : stichting Van Gogh Museum, 2000, p. 21
Bloch, V., Borch van Verwolde-Bonger, F.W.M. barones van der, Wijsenbeek, L.J.F., Odilon Redon, 1957, no. 172
Rapetti, Rodolphe, Leeman, Fred, Cogeval, Guy, Odilon Redon : [1840-1916], 2012, pp. 196-201
Decroocq, M.-C., Lacau St. Guily, A., Wildenstein, Alec, Odilon Redon : catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint et dessiné, 1992-1998, p. 188
Yamamoto, A., Odilon Redon : le souci de l'absolu, 2002, pp. 98, 206
Kolks, Z., Niermeyer, M., Uitert, Evert van, Odilon Redon 1840-1916 : tekeningen, litho's, pastels en schilderijen uit Nederlands bezit, 1984, p. 13
Leeman, Fred, Roos Rosa de Carvalho, Fleur, Vergeest, Aukje, Stolwijk, Chris, Odilon Redon en Emile Bernard : meesterwerken uit de collectie van Andries Bonger, 2009, pp. 72-73, 98-99, 121
Recent acquisitions by the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, pp. 600-604
Jiménez, José, Ades, Dawn, Sebbag, Georges, Surrealism and the dream, 2013, pp. 41, 109, 345
Maus, O., Delevoy, R.L., Les XX Bruxelles : catalogue des dix expositions annuelles, 1981, p. 208
Leeman, Fred, Roos Rosa de Carvalho, Fleur, Vergeest, Aukje, Stolwijk, Chris, Odilon Redon and Emile Bernard : masterpieces from the Andries Bonger collection, 2009, pp. 72, 121
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The painting in the original frame
