# Armor

**Odilon Redon** (French, 1840–1916)  
1891  
Charcoal and conté crayon  
20 x 14 1/2 in. (50.7 x 36.8 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 48.10.1. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/339671).

## About this work

A head encased in a dark, close-fitting helmet emerges from shadow, its features barely visible, in this charcoal and conté crayon drawing of 1891. It belongs to Redon’s ‘noirs’, the black drawings and lithographs that occupied him for some three decades, in which ordinary forms become strange and haunting. The rich, velvety blacks, built up and rubbed to create glowing transitions of tone, show his mastery of the medium shortly before he turned to colour.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Odilon Redon drew this in 1891, aged 51. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Charcoal.** Burnt willow or vine. It smudges and wipes away easily, which made it the natural tool for working out a composition.

### [Odilon Redon](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/odilon-redon)

French, 1840–1916; born in Bordeaux; died in Paris

Redon spent three decades working almost entirely in black: charcoal drawings he called his “noirs” and albums of lithographs peopled with floating eyes, strange plants and dreamlike heads, which made him a hero of the Symbolist writers. In the 1890s he turned to colour, and his later pastels and oils of flowers, myths and visions glow with intense hues. He was close to Mallarmé and admired by the young Nabis.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Drawings
- The artist was 51
- Real size: about 20 × 14 in (51 × 37 cm). The 16 × 20 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Post-Impressionism](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/post-impressionism)
- Subjects: Armor, Helmets, Women
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1034.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1034/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/armor-met-339671).