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Odilon Redon | Portrait of Marie Botkine, 1900

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Odilon Redon | Portrait of the ceramist Marie Botkin, pastel | Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France

Portrait of Marie Botkine
Date: 1900
Style: Symbolism
Genre: Portrait
Media: Pastel, paper
Dimensions: 48 x 64 cm
Location: Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France


This painting is a pastel of Marie Botkin, a ceramist who lived in the early 1900s.
Botkin is depicted sitting at a table, painting a pot.
The painting is delicate and colorful, and is a beautiful reminder of Botkin's artistry.


Odilon Redon | Study for Portrait of Marie Botkin, 1900 | State Museum, Kröller-Müller, Otterlo, The Netherlands

Odilon Redon | Study for Portrait of Marie Botkin, 1900 | Albertina

The drawing, executed with a few short strokes and delicate shading, is a study for the two slightly different pastels "Marie Botkin in an Astrakhan Coat".
One, dated 1900, is in Otterlo (Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller; Wildenstein, I, no. 81, ill.), the other in Paris (Musée d'Orsay; Wildenstein, I, no. 82, ill.).
The model is shown as a bust in three-quarter view and is almost completely covered by the high fur collar and the lavish hat with feathers, which gives the portrait a mysterious aura.

This magical, diffuse impression is reinforced by the darkness of the garment, from which the half-covered face shines unrealistically, almost ghostly brightly.
Little is known about Marie Botkin, a native of Russia: she worked as a ceramicist in Paris and made vases based on Redon's designs.
She probably became acquainted with him through the influential art patron Sergei Ivanovich Shchukin.
Towards the end of 1900, a lover of fine arts and ballet named Botkin regularly visited his salon in Moscow, but it is not clear whether he was Marie Botkin's father, brother or husband. | Source: © Albertina

Odilon Redon | Study for Portrait of Marie Botkin, 1900 | Albertina

Il disegno "Studio per il ritratto di Marie Botkin", eseguito con poche linee brevi e delicate ombreggiature, è uno studio per i due pastelli solo leggermente diversi "Marie Botkin con il cappotto di Astrakan".
Uno, datato 1900, si trova ad Otterlo - Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller, l'altro a Parigi - Musée d'Orsay.
Il modello è rappresentato come ritratto a mezzo busto in vista di tre quarti ed è quasi completamente coperto dall'alto collo di pelliccia e dal rigoglioso cappello con piume, che conferisce al ritratto un'aura misteriosa.
Questa impressione magica e diffusa è rafforzata dall'oscurità della veste, da cui il volto seminascosto risplende in modo irreale, quasi spettrale.

Poco si sa di Marie Botkin, originaria della Russia: lavorava come ceramista a Parigi e realizzava vasi su disegno di Redon.
La loro conoscenza risale probabilmente all'influente mecenate Sergei Ivanovich Shchukin.
Verso la fine del 1900, un amante delle belle arti e del balletto di nome Botkin frequentava regolarmente il suo salotto di Mosca, anche se non si può dire se fosse padre, fratello o marito della Marie Botkin. | Fonte: (testo tradotto dal tedesco): © Albertina, il museo di Vienna

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