Odilon Redon (1840–1916) - Voluptuousness, Elastic Phantom, plate 5

Odilon Redon (1840–1916).

"VOLUPTÉ, FANTÔME ÉLASTIQUE" [Voluptuousness, Elastic Phantom], from *Les Fleurs du Mal* by Charles Baudelaire.
Plate V.

Executed using the "Evely" technique on a copper plate.

Signed with a monogram on the plate.

Edmond Demán, Brussels, 1891.
Format: 8vo; one of 80 copies on beige-tinted vellum (*Velin Teinte beige*, Rives)—a paper meticulously selected by Redon to add warmth to the intense blacks produced by the Evely technique.

Plate dimensions: H. 178 mm – W. 115 mm.
Paper dimensions: approx. 25 x 16 cm.
In excellent condition. In an antique frame with glass (with some defects) and an olive-green fabric mat. The work has been removed from the frame for inspection (there are no marks from the mat window). Frame dimensions: 33 x 27 cm.

Catalogue raisonné: Mellerio (1923), 202 / André Mellerio, ed. Alan Hyman, *Odilon Redon: Les estampes – The Graphic Work: Catalogue Raisonné*, 2001, pp. 418–419.

Additional bibliography: *The Etchings and Lithographs of Odilon Redon*, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1929, p. 47 / Henri Beraldi, *Les graveurs du XIXe siècle: Guide de l'amateur d'estampes modernes*, 1889–1892, pp. 176–177 / Jos ten Berge, *Hommes de valeur: Henri Fantin-Latour / Odilon Redon en tijdgenoten*, 2002, p. 236-242 ...

Regarding the EDITIONS of "Les Fleurs du Mal")...
- The Deman edition (Brussels, 1891), consisting of 43 copies (with the title and plate number on the sheet), as well as another edition of 100 copies (80 on *Velin Teinte* paper, 10 on *Chine* paper, and 10 on *Japon* paper).
- The reissue by Henri Floury (Paris, 1923), presented as a suite on *Velin du Marais* paper accompanying the *catalogue raisonné* by André Mellerio (100 copies plus 50 *hors commerce* [HC] copies), printed by the Jean Langlois atelier.

Regarding Redon’s ORIGINAL DRAWINGS... these were exhibited at the *Salon des XX* in Brussels in 1890. Redon is undoubtedly one of the foremost figures of Symbolism and an indisputable pioneer of Surrealism. Unlike the Impressionists of his time, who focused on capturing light and external reality, Redon turned his gaze inward, exploring the realm of dreams, myths, and the unconscious.

Regarding the EVELY technique... Léon Evely was a Belgian printer who experimented with a "velvety" photogravure technique. He would refine the results using drypoint and aquatint to achieve the gradations and textures found in the original charcoal drawings that Redon created as the basis for many of his prints.

Regarding the plate... *VOLUPTÉ, FANTÔME ÉLASTIQUE* ("Voluptuousness, Elastic Phantom!"): this is one of the most mysterious and quintessentially Symbolist images by Odilon Redon. It belongs to the poem "The Destruction" (*La Destruction*) by Baudelaire; in it, Voluptuousness is invoked as an "elastic phantom"—an androgynous or feminine specter—that clouds the poet’s vision like an ephemeral illusion, shifting in form and distorting the creator’s will toward the abysses (of the Baudelairean *Spleen*).

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