Gaston Redon 1853-1921

Gaston Redon was born in Bordeaux in 1853 into an artistic family that also included his two elder brothers, the composer Ernest Redon and the Symbolist painter Odilon Redon. Benefiting from the latter’s invaluable advice from an early age,¹ he decided to pursue a career in architecture and moved to Paris to study at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, where he was awarded the Grand Prix de Rome in 1883.

A resident of the Villa Medici from 1884 to 1887, he formed close friendships with the medievalist Émile Mâle, the archaeologist Jean Radet and the composers Gustave Charpentier and Claude Debussy, with whom he shared a lasting passion for music.

Following his return from a study trip to the East, Redon pursued a distinguished official career and became Chief Architect of Civil Buildings and National Palaces, with responsibility notably for the Louvre Museum and the Tuileries.

At the same time, he devoted himself enthusiastically to teaching architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts. Together with Alfred-Henri Recoura, he directed the Coquart-Gerhardt studio, where he trained several generations of architects.

An erudite artist, respected teacher and draughtsman of remarkable poetic sensitivity, Gaston Redon was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1914 and remains a major figure in the history of French architectural education.

¹ “You, more than anyone else, can inform me, advise me and spare me certain unnecessary efforts. Forgive me for all that I ask of you; you will understand what prompted me to seek your advice.” Autograph letter signed by Gaston Redon to Odilon Redon, dated 15 May 1872, private collection.