Redon was, with
Gustave Moreau, one of the leading artists of the French
Symbolist movement. He was born in Bordeaux and trained for a brief period with
Jean-Léon Gérôme. His earlier work consisted chiefly of drawings and prints of imaginary and usually macabre subjects.
After 1880, with the encouragement of
Gauguin and the
Nabis, he turned to the production of oils and
pastels.