Conservators removing three murals by the French Symbolist artist Odilon Redon have uncovered colourful sketches drawn directly onto the library walls of Fontfroide Abbey in Narbonne, France. The panels, which had remained in place since 1911, were taken down for the first time this year to be lent to a Paris exhibition.
The murals—Day, Night and Silence—concealed drawings that sometimes resemble figures in the finished compositions, but are smaller and more colourful. Their purpose remains uncertain: they may have been preparatory studies or abandoned attempts at painting directly onto the walls. The abbey's director considers it highly likely that Redon produced them during his ten-day visit in March 1910.
The commission came from Redon's friend Gustave Fayet, a prominent collector who purchased the former 11th-century monastery in 1908. Fayet financed renovations intended to transform the medieval religious setting into a modern creative space. By Redon's 1910 visit, the library renovations were complete, allowing him to assess how the murals he was painting in Paris would fit the room.
The panels are now among 86 Redon works at the Louis Vuitton Foundation's exhibition, Gustave Fayet: Collector-Designer. Alongside more than 250 works from Fayet's collection, the exhibition presents 374 of his own creations. It runs until 8 March 2027, after which the murals will return to their original positions at Fontfroide. Visitors have until March to view the exposed sketches before they are concealed once more.
