Mary Cassatt at the Louvre- The Paintings Gallery by Edgar Degas

Mary Cassatt at the Louvre- The Paintings Gallery 1879 - 1880

aquatint, print, etching

aquatint

pencil drawn

amateur sketch

toned paper

light pencil work

print

etching

pencil sketch

etching

personal sketchbook

pen-ink sketch

france

sketchbook drawing

pencil work

This print by Edgar Degas, created between 1879 and 1880, depicts the artist's friend, Mary Cassatt, in the Louvre's painting gallery. Known for his captivating depictions of dancers and everyday life, Degas uses a monotype technique to capture Cassatt's graceful posture as she admires a painting. The composition's emphasis on light and shadow creates a sense of depth and intimacy, showcasing Degas's mastery of this technique, while the use of lines emphasizes the movement and energy of the scene. "Mary Cassatt at the Louvre - The Paintings Gallery" is a compelling piece of art that offers a glimpse into the world of Impressionist art and the relationship between two notable artists.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

⋮

In 1865 Edgar Degas joined a group of artists, writers, critics, and collectors who met at Madame Desoye's famous shop, La Porte Chinoise, at 220 rue de Rivoli to discuss and admire Japanese art. The group included Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, Émile Zola, Charles Baudelaire, Edouard Manet, James Tissot, James McNeill Whistler, and Felix Bracquemond. Degas knew many other important collectors of Japanese art, who opened their doors to him. He became a collector himself and at the time of his death his studio held more than 100 ukiyo-e prints. Stylistically, Degas was most impressed by the subtle use of line, unusual organization of space, and unfamiliar foreshortening he found in Japanese art. Mary Cassatt at the Louvre is perhaps his most Japanese-inspired print. The narrow format and up-tilted background plane, the cropped column on the left, the unusual off-center arrangement of the subjects, and the bird's-eye perspective combine to make this an extremely daring composition.