Brunnhilde (The Twilight of the Gods)
Original title: Brunnhilde (The Twilight of the Gods)
kurzbeschreibung
A woman in profile, her gaze turned to the left, stands at the heart of this 1894 lithograph by Odilon Redon. The sheet is titled Brünnhilde (Die Götterdämmerung), pointing to the Valkyrie from Richard Wagner's opera cycle. The execution remains entirely in black and white.
Description
Long, wavy hair and a simple top define the view of a woman in profile. Flowers and plants rise slightly from the background, entering the field of view at the edges. The layout stays spare and wholly attuned to the figure; light falls evenly, without strong shadows. In the soft rendering of face and hair, a realistic touch emerges with romantic overtones.
Context
This lithograph was made in 1894 as a contribution to Redon's series on Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen, which he produced between 1893 and 1894. Brünnhilde is a central figure in it, her fate culminating in the Götterdämmerung. The artist, known for his symbolist works, sought in this series to link music and the visual arts.
Impact
Calm and concentrated, the print reads through its restrained, black-and-white-only execution. The romantic conception of the woman gives the image a poetic, almost dreamlike air.
Technique
For this lithograph, Redon drew with black ink on the stone and then printed it. The process allows fine gradations of gray, which here carry the soft modeling of face and hair. The sheet belongs to an edition made for art journals and collectors.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)