Armor

I admire Odilon Redon. He did so many stunning things it’s hard to choose one, but this caught my eye immediately—this woman looks like a ninja!

This fantastical drawing of a helmeted woman in profile is one of four similar charcoal drawings Redon executed during the last decade of the nineteenth century. The sitter, rendered strangely mute by her helmet-like covering and untouchable by its thorny needles, varies slightly from sheet to sheet. While the exact meaning of Redon's image is unclear (it's very typical for him), it has been thought that the bizarre bondage imposed on his sitter expresses a subconscious fear of female sexuality or, conversely, serves as a symbol of female fecundity.

To our user Carol - thank you for your postcard and all your kind words! <3

Zuzanna