Odilon Redon, a French painter, was an individualist who believed in the superiority of the imagination over observation of nature, rejected the Realism and Impressionism of his contemporaries in favor of a more personal artistic vision. He shared the same enthusiasm for the fantastic as the Symbolist movement did. He believed in the mystical, and sublime forces found beneath the surface of everyday life. Using nature as his starting point, Redon imagined new worlds through his enigmatic creations, such as this lithograph called The Eye Like a Strange Balloon Mounts Toward Infinity (1882). I love it!
