A rank that was removed

Fallen is the only angelic condition defined by loss. It cannot be shown by an attribute, because the attribute of a fallen angel is the absence of the standing he used to have, and it cannot be read off wings, which he keeps. Five of the 224 titles in this catalogue use the phrase. What the title adds here is an action — looking at a cloud — which is contemplation rather than rebellion or punishment.

What the record holds

The catalogue dates the work to 1875 and gives Odilon Redon, a French painter, with Symbolism as the style term. No dimensions are recorded. The measured colour family is ochre. The location on record is Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Five entries by this painter

This painter has five works in the catalogue, and the recurring interest across their titles is the winged figure detached from any episode. That is a Symbolist position on the material: the hierarchy is treated as a source of images rather than as a description of anything. The record files this entry under Portraits of a male figure and Fantasy, gives Symbolism as the style term, and supplies no dimensions.