great video!!!! As a child, I once wrote a story about a sad cyclops, and seeing this painting really reminds me of how I imagined the cyclops back then. I find this painting so beautiful, as well as his earlier noir work.
I always thought of the cyclop as completely unemphatetic and ready to kill her all while holding a calm and unbothered expression. Made him seem even more monstrous.
This is one of my favorite paintings. I consider it to be scarier than “The Scream”. “The Cyclops” is just so subtle. I wasn’t too familiar with Odilon Redon’s past work, thank you for the history!
@@stalinwearsstussy hard to put into words. The cyclops has such an alien look to him, but done with subtlety. And the whole painting is like looking at an alien world.
I've been fascinated w/ Surrealism and Dadaism this year and hadn't heard of symbolism until this video. Thank you for sharing! I really appreciate your work.
I love Redon and the Symbolists! I came across a couple of books in the early '70s by Phillipe Jullian - 'Dreamers of Decadence' and 'The Symboliists', which turned me onto the Symbolists, the Decadents, Art Nouveau and the Pre-Raphealites. Nice video - short, but sweet. :)
Coming across those kinds of books is always a pleasure! I love art books, not to learn more about a specific topic, but to explore and encounter new movements/artists. I'd love to get my hand one day on a book about the symbolists. Thank you so much for your comment!
@@TheCanvasArtHistory Thank you. :) I was just a kid, and these books had a tremendous effect on me. I was familiar with the Surrealists, but these were all new visions to me. I still have those books, and never tire of looking at them. And I agree - finding something 'new' is amazing. When I discovered the Nabis a few years ago, I was enchanted with their work, too. Not as 'blown away' as I was in my 'teens and 20's, but extremely impressed. :)
It was love at first sight with me and Redons colourful paintings, when I saw them in the very last two rooms of the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. The museum was closing 10 minutes later, and leaving was truly heartbreaking. I hope I'll see some of this paintings again somewhere, the've really taken a permanent place in my mind. It was so nice learning more about Redon in this video, thank you.
I have seen this painting many times. I think it is often the one used in art history books. It is unsettling, and dreamlike and does indeed have a tension between the beauty of the color and the menace of the creature.
"I was drawing a naked lady and thought to myself... this is way to realistic. So I threw in a weird looking cyclops at the top and called it a day." -Odilon Redon
The Cyclops made the strongest impression on me, of all the paintings in the museum that I visited (the Kröller Müller museum in the Netherlands), and I had never heard of Redon before. The colors are so fantastic that had to find out more about this artist. I have no words to express my admiration for Redon, he is my favorite painter. He found a freedom of expression in paint that is endless and unmatched. Nobody could make such beautiful color structures, very bright colors contrasted with deep blacks. If Rembrand is the maestro of light and shadows, Redon is the master of bright colors in contrast with deep blacks. Redon's spider-human-head appeared in the horror movie The Thing, one of the scariest movie scenes ever made. Redon's beautiful paintings come from a magical spirit world, observed through a third eye in the center of the forehead.
I have seen photos of babies born with severe deformity, and the Cyclops is virtually exactly like one of the photos. I wonder if he heard of and saw similar photos.
One of youtubes top art channels. If not THE TOP channel! Your content never fails to stimulate thought and ignite passion because passion can be contagious. Thank you for you hard work!!
I don't know why but this painting feels comfortable to me, the cyclops doesn't look scary but just a being popped out of a dream, and these colours give a sense of softness
So you had been talking about Symbolism in this video and it was the reason you had not mentioned it in the video about Redon's Noirs... so I just add that in art's history, Symbolism is a link between Romantism and Surrealism, a persistance of the magic of Romantism and a preview of the subconscient of Surrealism. 😀
I think i can say that the cyclops is a very young Polyphemus. He looks like an awkward youth that is shy. Also that poor spider I want to give him a hug.
The backstories and theories behind art and the artist has always been interesting, but your videos make it so much easier to stay engaged! Your script and the way you deliver it has me hanging off of every word to understand the chosen illustration and the artist of every video better. I hope to one day be able to analyse information and images and deliver my analysis as well as you do!
I think a lot of people can relate to Polyphemus on a deep level. Big, shy, gentle soul, at least in later classical poetry, that loves a woman who doesn’t feel the same way.
The cyclop looks like a fetus/stillborn that has the condition called Holoprosencephaly or Cyclopia (if you Google search this the images may upset you) . You can see it in the ears, lack of nose and chin/jaw. Even with modern medicine no child born with full cyclopsia can survive past a week, they are often miscarried or stillborn. Prehaps He found a specimen of a stillborn to study. I wonder if this info will change your interpretation.
This painting always confused me. You see the cyclops first but it's a struggle to make out which features are which. You expect two eyes, so that when there is only one you assume that the picture is in profile. But then you look for the other features and they are not in their correct place. There is an ear where the nose should be, a mouth that makes no sense. Eventually you realize that there's only the one eye and it's staring directly at you. The cocked head adds to this misdirection. The face still does not quite make sense as it still is missing a nose. Redon's construction of the face is more ingenious than the usual versions which is a normal head with the eyes blocked up and a single eye in the forehead - it is more natural and organic, but less familiar. I always thought that Redon was trying to create a sense of horror here as you try to make functional sense of the cyclop's face. I also have the suspicion that it is the same horror (as articulated by Freud) that males experience when they first see naked females and struggle to understand the differences in the female anatomy. This would then be the role of Galatea in the painting. Just a theory on my part though!
Wtf where was this video last year when I had a reserch project and comparison to do on the myth of galatee in art? This is so good im so sad that I didnt find this earlier
Personally, whenever I look at this painting I keep seeing the cyclops as some sort of a giant worm or something 😅 With the way he's drawn I find it hard to recognize him as humanoid which always made this painting that much weirder
Hello to you ! I’m working on a project for my Uni class and your analysis is really inspiring! So I wanted to ask you if I can take your point of view as a source in my work ? I was also wondering if you took reference of other sources to complete your video (like thesis or article) or if it was your own interpretation? Great video! :)
Hello! I hope it isn't too late to answer! I always use other sources to complete my videos, but for this one, it was completely my own interpretation. I'm super thrilled to know you were compelled by my analysis! There's definitely room to expand on it. Of course you can take my point of view as source! I'm honoured :)
if creativity matters, let's say I paint a furry sence or monster sence with an artistic intention, do they have art value honestly most of the ideas presented here especially the sketches, are on par with many illustrations on the market I feel like a lots have been explored by the minority yet not recognised (or course many NSFW but there are mastery imaginations right there, also mangas and animes) . if these subjects in the vid are peculiar enough to be in art interest or discussion, many have been overlooked.
i have always been fascinated by the fact he looks so shy and timid. it makes you empathise with him more than in other paintings.
I wasn't scared when I first saw this painting. I saw him as a misunderstood beast gazing upon a world he wishes to be apart of.
great video!!!! As a child, I once wrote a story about a sad cyclops, and seeing this painting really reminds me of how I imagined the cyclops back then. I find this painting so beautiful, as well as his earlier noir work.
I always thought of the cyclop as completely unemphatetic and ready to kill her all while holding a calm and unbothered expression. Made him seem even more monstrous.
No he is misunderstoof cutie
It could be insignificant, but I was always intrigued that, while the scenery is full of flowers, Polyphemus does not appear to possess a nose.
This is one of my favorite paintings. I consider it to be scarier than “The Scream”. “The Cyclops” is just so subtle. I wasn’t too familiar with Odilon Redon’s past work, thank you for the history!
Why do you find it scary? I’m just curious. :)
@@stalinwearsstussy hard to put into words. The cyclops has such an alien look to him, but done with subtlety. And the whole painting is like looking at an alien world.
I think this is heaven
I've been fascinated w/ Surrealism and Dadaism this year and hadn't heard of symbolism until this video.
Thank you for sharing! I really appreciate your work.
Thank you again for always supporting me Marc!
Super interesting video! The grass and land almost has a jewel-like color palette, it's so wonderful!
I love Redon and the Symbolists! I came across a couple of books in the early '70s by Phillipe Jullian - 'Dreamers of Decadence' and 'The Symboliists', which turned me onto the Symbolists, the Decadents, Art Nouveau and the Pre-Raphealites. Nice video - short, but sweet. :)
Coming across those kinds of books is always a pleasure! I love art books, not to learn more about a specific topic, but to explore and encounter new movements/artists. I'd love to get my hand one day on a book about the symbolists.
Thank you so much for your comment!
@@TheCanvasArtHistory Thank you. :) I was just a kid, and these books had a tremendous effect on me. I was familiar with the Surrealists, but these were all new visions to me. I still have those books, and never tire of looking at them. And I agree - finding something 'new' is amazing. When I discovered the Nabis a few years ago, I was enchanted with their work, too. Not as 'blown away' as I was in my 'teens and 20's, but extremely impressed. :)
I’ve never even heard of this artist before this video. Thank you! What a wonderful painting!
It was love at first sight with me and Redons colourful paintings, when I saw them in the very last two rooms of the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. The museum was closing 10 minutes later, and leaving was truly heartbreaking. I hope I'll see some of this paintings again somewhere, the've really taken a permanent place in my mind. It was so nice learning more about Redon in this video, thank you.
Thank you for this video and shedding light on such a striking image.
I have seen this painting many times. I think it is often the one used in art history books. It is unsettling, and dreamlike and does indeed have a tension between the beauty of the color and the menace of the creature.
I love Redon's artwork! His Noirs are my absolute favorite. I think the cyclops looks timid and I love the vibrant cosmic colors of the hillside!
It’s very difficult to find good material on the works of redon. This was well made.
Thank you!
You deserve sm followers and traffic bc these videos are so well made , thank u for continuing to make videos
Thank you so much Elise!! Your comment is super encouraging!
"I was drawing a naked lady and thought to myself... this is way to realistic. So I threw in a weird looking cyclops at the top and called it a day."
-Odilon Redon
The Cyclops made the strongest impression on me, of all the paintings in the museum that I visited (the Kröller Müller museum in the Netherlands), and I had never heard of Redon before. The colors are so fantastic that had to find out more about this artist. I have no words to express my admiration for Redon, he is my favorite painter. He found a freedom of expression in paint that is endless and unmatched. Nobody could make such beautiful color structures, very bright colors contrasted with deep blacks. If Rembrand is the maestro of light and shadows, Redon is the master of bright colors in contrast with deep blacks. Redon's spider-human-head appeared in the horror movie The Thing, one of the scariest movie scenes ever made. Redon's beautiful paintings come from a magical spirit world, observed through a third eye in the center of the forehead.
I have seen photos of babies born with severe deformity, and the Cyclops is virtually exactly like one of the photos. I wonder if he heard of and saw similar photos.
One of youtubes top art channels. If not THE TOP channel! Your content never fails to stimulate thought and ignite passion because passion can be contagious. Thank you for you hard work!!
Just discovered your channel this week and ive watched many videos. One of the best art theory channels out there. Loving the content!
What an honor! Thank you so much Jakob! Glad you stumbled upon my channel.
I don't know why but this painting feels comfortable to me, the cyclops doesn't look scary but just a being popped out of a dream, and these colours give a sense of softness
This is my favourite painting so far
i’m using one of these videos for an essay i’m writing in a third year theory course, keep up the amazing work :)
I'm glad I inspired you! Hope your essay does well!
So you had been talking about Symbolism in this video and it was the reason you had not mentioned it in the video about Redon's Noirs... so I just add that in art's history, Symbolism is a link between Romantism and Surrealism, a persistance of the magic of Romantism and a preview of the subconscient of Surrealism. 😀
This is like an early version of King Kong. Makes sense a french artist made this. France loves the beauty and the beast trope.
Please do more videos on Redon if possible, he is quickly becoming my favourite painter as you are becoming my favourite UA-camr☺️
Awww thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear that! Redon is such an interesting artist. This definitely won't be the last video I make about his art.
I think i can say that the cyclops is a very young Polyphemus. He looks like an awkward youth that is shy. Also that poor spider I want to give him a hug.
For me it invokes the same sense of terror as the titans in the first season of Attack on Titan
This was a really well-structured video. Keep it up!
Thank you Sam!
The backstories and theories behind art and the artist has always been interesting, but your videos make it so much easier to stay engaged! Your script and the way you deliver it has me hanging off of every word to understand the chosen illustration and the artist of every video better. I hope to one day be able to analyse information and images and deliver my analysis as well as you do!
Amazing video as always, full of sensitivity!
Thank you so much Elissa!
I think a lot of people can relate to Polyphemus on a deep level. Big, shy, gentle soul, at least in later classical poetry, that loves a woman who doesn’t feel the same way.
Lovely video! Such an interesting topic.
Thank you!!
Keep up the great work! Your videos are so interesting to watch.
I'm so happy you find my videos interesting! Thank you Daria!
Waw.... who are you ? Your Interpretation are sooooo great . Thank you .
Love your video's. Greetings from Groningen
From the Netherlands! Amazing! Thank you so much!
The cyclop looks like a fetus/stillborn that has the condition called Holoprosencephaly or Cyclopia (if you Google search this the images may upset you) . You can see it in the ears, lack of nose and chin/jaw. Even with modern medicine no child born with full cyclopsia can survive past a week, they are often miscarried or stillborn. Prehaps He found a specimen of a stillborn to study. I wonder if this info will change your interpretation.
Exactly my first thought 😅
Am I the only person who thought the cyclops was cute?
Oddly adorable, yes.
Thanks!
I think this depiction makes the cyclops more sympathetic, ultimately to become the victim.
this one got me in my feelies
Thank you!!
Thank YOU Cesar!
Thankuuu so much☺☺it's helpful for my assignment💐💐💐💐
Truly, that is one strange painting
Great video, as always.
Thank you so much!
This is good work
Thank you Brandon!
For some reason the crying spider reminds me of junji ito's work
been binging these videos, love the channel! bell button is defo on
i love this channel!
Thank you Raheema!! I'm happy you do!
Well done 🤍
Thanks Cas!
This painting always confused me. You see the cyclops first but it's a struggle to make out which features are which. You expect two eyes, so that when there is only one you assume that the picture is in profile. But then you look for the other features and they are not in their correct place. There is an ear where the nose should be, a mouth that makes no sense. Eventually you realize that there's only the one eye and it's staring directly at you. The cocked head adds to this misdirection. The face still does not quite make sense as it still is missing a nose.
Redon's construction of the face is more ingenious than the usual versions which is a normal head with the eyes blocked up and a single eye in the forehead - it is more natural and organic, but less familiar.
I always thought that Redon was trying to create a sense of horror here as you try to make functional sense of the cyclop's face. I also have the suspicion that it is the same horror (as articulated by Freud) that males experience when they first see naked females and struggle to understand the differences in the female anatomy. This would then be the role of Galatea in the painting. Just a theory on my part though!
Wtf where was this video last year when I had a reserch project and comparison to do on the myth of galatee in art? This is so good im so sad that I didnt find this earlier
Personally, whenever I look at this painting I keep seeing the cyclops as some sort of a giant worm or something 😅 With the way he's drawn I find it hard to recognize him as humanoid which always made this painting that much weirder
Such a beautiful article and narration. Loved it.
Look at that cheeky lil cyclops
Love Odilon!!!!
the cyclops looks a bit cocky as he gazes at the fertile slopes
I choose to see the cyclops as sad and sympathetic
I think the cyclops looks like one of those deformed farm animals born with one eye.
That makes him even creepier!
@@TheCanvasArtHistory exactly
He’s something that shouldn’t exist, yet he does
Really eerie stuff
commenting for the algorithm
Thank you for your help!
I think the cyclops being happy looking makes him creepier honestly.
I clicked on the vid because Odilon is my name but I never pronounced or heard it pronounced in that way.
Anyways nice vid definitely a sub from me
He got those DSLs thooooo...
Why was the crying spider used as a cover for Franz Kafkas Metamorphosis?
jeeez Pegasus is intense too!
why is the cyclops kinda cute!!!???
Hello to you !
I’m working on a project for my Uni class and your analysis is really inspiring! So I wanted to ask you if I can take your point of view as a source in my work ?
I was also wondering if you took reference of other sources to complete your video (like thesis or article) or if it was your own interpretation?
Great video! :)
Hello! I hope it isn't too late to answer!
I always use other sources to complete my videos, but for this one, it was completely my own interpretation. I'm super thrilled to know you were compelled by my analysis! There's definitely room to expand on it.
Of course you can take my point of view as source! I'm honoured :)
Can you send me text of this video?
Sure! Send me an email!
thecanvascontact@gmail.com
if creativity matters, let's say I paint a furry sence or monster sence with an artistic intention, do they have art value
honestly most of the ideas presented here especially the sketches, are on par with many illustrations on the market
I feel like a lots have been explored by the minority yet not recognised (or course many NSFW but there are mastery imaginations right there, also mangas and animes) . if these subjects in the vid are peculiar enough to be in art interest or discussion, many have been overlooked.
The cyclops looks like a giant child.