Odilon Redon’s 1905 portrait of Jeanne Roberte de Domecy, who was about five years old at the time, has a downright unsettling effect. It clearly marks a complete break with traditional portraiture. Redon’s portrait appears alienating, mysteriously imbued with symbolism. Jeanne Roberte de Domecy appears as a shadowy figure against the dark background. She wears a dark dress, with a light-colored long-sleeved blouse underneath. Light falls on the figure from the left, illuminating the face in particular, which barely stands out from the light-blond hair but rather seems to blend into it. It is in the face, then, that the true mystery lies: less in the small, closed mouth or the gaze than in the overemphasis on the facial asymmetries. Every human face exhibits asymmetries, yet Jeanne Roberte de Domecy’s face appears as if composed of two halves; an impression created by the almost glaring lighting, the high forehead, and the hair combed behind the ear on the left side, the shading, the childlike bow, and the hair falling over the shoulder onto the chest on the right.