In this thesis, I consider how Odilon Redon symbolized the theme of evil in many of his black and white prints. I examine Redon's compilation of these prints into portfolios in dialogue with literary interpretations of evil in Charles Baudelaire's Flowers of Evil, Gustave Flaubert's Temptation of Saint Anthony, and the New Testament Book of Revelation. I consider word and image interaction in Redon's engagement of these traditional and contemporary literary sources. I demonstrate that Redon's prints participated in Symbolist discourses, using traditional myths and symbols in new and evocative ways. Further, I show that Redon's prints, like the Symbolist texts with which they were in dialogue, participated in wider cultural discourses informed by traditional and contemporary theories of evolution and degeneration. I argue that the symbolism in these prints aligns with Redon's writings on art and spirituality, representing evil as a duality and part of a dialectical process of enlightenment. Redon's writing represented evil as false morality and unreflective adherence to societal norms in decadent society. Redon's portfolios depicted evil and alienation in bourgeois culture, using light and dark symbolism and the tropes of the Devil, the serpent, and the skeleton to connect with canonical myths while symbolizing resistance to dogma and contemporary materialism. I demonstrate that Redon symbolized evil in these prints, in alignment with his writings, as an element to be overcome in a dialectical process of spiritual growth. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Art History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester 2009. / April 20, 2009. / Discourse, Degeneration, Evolution, Decline, Decay, Twighlight, Crepuscular, Skeleton, Serpent, Escapism, Redon, France, Noirs, Decadence, Evil, Spirituality, Nineteenth Century, Prints, Symbolism, Spiral, Dialectic, Appocalypse, Myth, Satanic, Anthony, Flaubert, Baudelaire, Alienation / Includes bibliographical references. / Lauren Weingarden, Professor Directing Thesis; Adam Jolles, Committee Member; Richard Emmerson, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_182173 |
| Contributors | Chadwick, Stephanie (authoraut), Weingarden, Lauren (professor directing thesis), Jolles, Adam (committee member), Emmerson, Richard (committee member), Department of Art History (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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