The Chariot of Apollo

About 1900 Redon abandoned his trademark black charcoal drawings and began avidly experimenting with color. He also explored new subjects, including the mythological horses of the sun. They are driven by Apollo, god of light and poetry, or by Phaethon, the boy who foolishly tried to steer the horses and fell to his death. Redon made over thirty depictions of the motif in oil, pastel, and pencil. In this version, he omitted any indication of a ground plane, so that the horses and charioteer appear to race across a boundless sky. (Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art)