Hidden art works found at abbey by chance

More than a century after they were hidden from view, colourful illustrations by French Symbolist artist Odilon Redon have been uncovered at the Abbaye de Fontfroide, Narbonne – just as three of his paintings prepare to go on show in Paris

Previously concealed illustrations by artist Odilon Redon have come to light by chance, after paintings that had covered them for more than a hundred years were removed from the walls.

The revelation happened as a team of painting conservators and restorers were preparing to transfer three of Redon’s compositions, Le Jour, La Nuit and Le Silence, out of the Abbaye de Fontfroide near Narbonne (Aude). Underneath these paintings, they found colourful illustrations by Redon on the stone walls of the abbey.

“When we found that out, it was an incredible moment,” said Barthélémy d’Andoque, president of the Association Musée d’Art Gustave Fayet and great-great-grandson of Fayet. 

As an artist, art collector and patron in the 19th and 20th centuries, Gustave Fayet bought Fontfroide with his wife Madeleine in 1908 and undertook its restoration and decoration. Redon was his friend and contemporary – as such, he had commissioned Redon to create the decoration for the abbey library, which resulted in Le Jour, La Nuit and Le Silence. 

The discovery behind the works show two illustrations: one of a woman holding what appears to be a fruit, and the other one of three women surrounded by flowers, one of whom has a halo, said Aurélie Terral Dréano, conservator and restorer of paintings working on the project.

Mr d’Andoque told The Connexion that the fact that they replicate the themes of the main paintings shows they are indeed Redon’s work, though it is not clear whether he intended the sketches to be drafts of the main paintings, or murals in their own right that he later abandoned. 

“I have to admit that at this point, we don’t know,” he said.

Ms Terral Dréano said it was surprisingly common to discover new works or information hidden behind canvases, from inscriptions to original paintings that had been poorly received.

While the discovery of Redon’s illustrations was unexpected, Mr d’Andoque said that there had previously been suspicion there was something behind the canvas – a researcher in the 1990s had written that Redon had considered creating a mural, “so one might imagine that perhaps behind the canvas there could be something,” Mr d’Andoque said.

Le Jour, La Nuit and Le Silence will be on display at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris from October 9, 2026 to March 8, 2027, as part of a broader exhibition on Gustave Fayet. During this time, visitors to the Abbaye de Fontfroide will be able to see Redon’s illustrations on the walls, Mr d’Andoque said.