Odilon Redon(1840-1916) was born and educated in Bordeaux, France. He went to Paris at the age of 30, where he worked for the next 20 years producing black and white drawings and lithographs. In these works, Redon developed a highly distinctive repertoire of strange subjects that included amoeba-like creatures, and insects and plants with human heads. He joined the Symbolist movement after 1884 when he was fictionalized in the infamous novel by Joris Karl Huysmans, A Rebours.
During the 1890's, Redon turned to painting revealing a remarkable talent as a colorist. In oil and pastel, Redon used radiant color in paintings of mythological subjects and flowers. Historically, Redon is considered to be an important Symbolist artist as well as a precursor to Surrealism.