Fear (1866): Art, History and Details

Fear (1866) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Odilon Redon (French, 1840–1916).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Odilon Redon used parallel lines of varying density throughout this etching to enhance its tonal and emotional darkness. The subject was inspired by Johann Wolfgang Goethe's 1782 poem describing a father who discovered his child's death after a cold and windy nighttime journey. The figures and the man's white cape contrast dramatically with the scale and tone of their surroundings. Redon made few etchings during his career. This one was a gift to his friend, French art critic and novelist Joris-Karl Huysmans, and features a personalized dedication at the bottom of the sheet.

Object facts

• Title: Fear
• Date: 1866
• Creator attribution: Odilon Redon (French, 1840–1916)
• Culture: France, 19th century
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching
• Dimensions: Image: 11 x 20 cm (4 5/16 x 7 7/8 in.); Platemark: 14 x 22.3 cm (5 1/2 x 8 3/4 in.); Sheet: 27.4 x 35.1 cm (10 13/16 x 13 13/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1998.69

A detail from the museum

An impression of this etching was exhibited in a group of Odilon Redon's work at the 1913 Armory Show, which introduced the artist's work to American audiences.

Collection credit

Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland

Further reading listed by the museum

• Estampes modernes Henri M. Petiet, treizième vente. Paris: Hotel Drouot, 1997. Lot 157.
• Cleveland Museum of Art, “Painting by 18th-century Italian Master Gaetano Gandolfi among Works Added to CMA Collection,” March 24, 1998, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.