Later in life, Odilon Redon turned to portraiture, creating likenesses of both commissioned sitters and his close friends. This print represents a figure central to his artistic and social milieu: Roger Marx was an influential critic who championed Redon’s work. Redon depicted only the head and profile of his subject, sketching Marx with fine and delicate detail. He produced just a small number of impressions of the lithograph, accentuating its personal and intimate theme.