Humble and Human: An Exhibition in Honor of Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. February 2–May 26, 2019

Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing. —

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery, in partnership with the Detroit Institute of Arts, is proud to present Humble and Human, an exhibition in celebration of Ralph C. Wilson, Jr., a philanthropist, business leader, and advocate for the citizens of Western New York and Southeast Michigan—regions he called home. A long-term resident of Detroit and founding owner of the Buffalo Bills, Mr. Wilson profoundly shaped the industry and commerce of these two cities during his lifetime, and today this spirit is carried on in the work of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. His dedication to innovation and perseverance are also reflected in the collections of both museums, which have long served as cornerstones of the Great Lakes region.

A testament to the power of collaboration among artists, museums, and cities, this exhibition features paintings and sculptures from the collections of these two institutions by leading Impressionist and post-Impressionist artists, including Paul Cézanne, , , , and . During his lifetime, Mr. Wilson amassed a small but notable collection of paintings by Impressionist artists. He saw in the works of these late nineteenth-century avant-gardists—especially those of Monet—evocations of the values and ideas that were close to his own heart: the ennobling of simple pleasures and ordinary people.

Pierre Bonnard French, 1867–1947 Jeune fille à sa toilette (Girl Bathing), 1900 or 1905 Bronze Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Sherman S. Jewett Fund, 1954

Pierre Bonnard and his friend Édouard Vuillard, whose work is also on view in this exhibition, were members of a group of post-Impressionist painters called the Nabis, which means “prophets” in Arabic and Hebrew, as a nod to their preference for mystical subject matter. Bonnard, however, delighted in intimate scenes of everyday life, capturing the spirit of a person or a place often from memory. Around the turn of the twentieth century, he began painting the female nude in unassuming, natural poses. In this intimately sized sculpture, the artist interprets the traditional motif of a standing nude bather. With a seeming lack of self- consciousness, the figure raises her arms behind her back, forever paused in the privacy of her toilette.

Eugène Boudin French, 1824–1898 Casimir Delavigne Basin at Le Havre, 1874 Oil on panel Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Mrs. John N. Lord in memory of her husband, 62.146

The bustling scene depicted in Casimir Delavigne Basin at Le Havre is one that Eugène Boudin witnessed often as a child. He and his father made many trips up the River between Honfleur and Le Havre transporting casks of cider. After one day falling overboard and requiring rescue by a seaman, Boudin was sent to school by his mother. There, a teacher encouraged his artistic talent. As an adult, Boudin was able to return to the waterways of his youth as a subject for his compositions. Although he is lesser known than many of the French Impressionists who followed in his wake, his influence permeates their work. After encountering Boudin painting on the coast of the English Channel, a much younger Claude Monet contemplated working outdoors, a technique he had never considered before. The two painted side by side, in the open air. It did not take long for the future Father of to see the light.

Eugène Boudin French, 1824–1898 La Seine à Rouen (The Seine at Rouen), 1895 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred G. Lewis in memory of Mr. and Mrs. George Howard Lewis, 1943

Painted a few years before his death, The Seine at Rouen is exemplary of Eugène Boudin’s later style, in which sketchy and fluid brushwork combine in an overall muted palette. Artist Léon Leclerc (French, 1866–1930), who witnessed Boudin painting on the Quai d’Anjou (a landing overlooking the River Seine in ) in 1897, described his process. “After the rough sketch came a second phase, quite distinct from the other. Boudin would take a medium-sized brush, make a point, and look about him, calm and self-possessed, seeming to meditate. Then, all of a sudden, his brush, charged with paint, would swoop down on the canvas. . . . Soon from all these spots of color, groups of people began to emerge, then boats, houses.”

Charles Edouard Boutibonne French, born Hungary, 1816–1897 Croquet Players, 1871 Oil on wood panel Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of Dudley M. Irwin, 1909

Toward the end of the nineteenth century, jurors for the —a major art exhibition organized annually by the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris—were unreceptive to the endeavors of the Impressionists. They preferred artists like Charles Edouard Boutibonne, who painted in an academic style that was favored by the Salon, where he regularly exhibited. Eventually, the artist developed a modest reputation for his portraits and charming genre scenes, which often depict young bourgeois women playing billiards, hiking, ice skating, and engaging in other leisurely pastimes. Rather than painting (French for “out of doors”), Boutibonne worked on Croquet Players in his studio, paying careful attention to the details of the subjects’ faces, clothing, and surrounding objects. Critics of derided canvases like Boutibonne’s as “false surfaces”—showing no real texture or depth— and unfavorably compared the smooth, slick idealization of these works to the relatively visible brushstrokes, open composition, and emphasis on the changing qualities of light characteristic of Impressionist painting.

Gustave Caillebotte French, 1848–1894 Étude pour “Le Pont de l’Europe” (Study for “Le Pont de l’Europe”), 1876 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Bequest of A. Conger Goodyear, by exchange, 1974

During his time, was best known as an enthusiastic collector and supporter of the Impressionists. However, he was also an artist in his own right, driven by his fascination with the rapidly transforming landscape of Paris. In this work, the largest of five preparatory renderings for a final painting, Caillebotte took as his subject the recently built bridge spanning the railroad tracks leading to the Saint-Lazare station. Such a subject provided Caillebotte the opportunity to explore the impact of industrialization on the Parisian and its inhabitants. The artist was interested in not only modern subjects but also the latest means of representation, such as photography. Here, he imitated the dramatic cropping characteristic of this new medium. Additionally, he chose an exaggerated vantage point that is reinforced by the heavy, dramatic lines of the bridge itself and the way in which it marries with its cast shadow, creating an almost abstract composition.

Mary Cassatt American, 1844–1926 Baby Wearing a Cap, ca. 1890 Pencil on paper Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of George F. Goodyear, 1958

Mary Cassatt American, 1844–1926 In the Garden, 1903 or 1904 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Dr. Ernest G. Stillman, 22.6

Mary Cassatt began her artistic training at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, but discouraged by the institution’s treatment of female students, she ultimately moved to Paris to study privately. She would remain in for the majority of her life and career. In 1877, Edgar Degas invited her to join the Impressionists, and she became the only American to exhibit with the group. Like Berthe Morisot, whose work is also on view in this exhibition, Cassatt focused on familial themes and portraits of women. Although she never had children, the artist was fascinated by the bond between mothers and their children and often found her subjects in the villages near her home. By the end of the nineteenth century, affecting images such as In the Garden became very popular, perhaps because they filled a need to romanticize women’s roles within the home at a time when the issues of voting rights and social equality for women were gaining ground. However, idealizing the domestic roles of women was not Cassatt’s intent. In the artist's own words, “women should be someone and not something.”

Paul Cézanne French, 1839–1906 Le Bassin du Jas de Bouffan (The Pool at Jas de Bouffan), ca. 1878–79 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Fellows for Life Fund, 1927

The late 1870s were a period of transition for Paul Cézanne. In 1877, following a grievous reception of his art at the third Impressionist exhibition, he retreated to the countryside and worked in isolation, laboriously striving to find a new pictorial language. Jas de Bouffan, which means “Place of High Winds,” is a country estate northwest of Aix-en-Provence that the artist’s father purchased in 1859. The property provided Cézanne with many of his subjects in the decades to follow; its reflecting pool in particular appears in many works. In this rendition, he presents the viewer with a bordered vantage point, simultaneously evoking feelings of isolation and tranquility. This work foreshadows painterly concepts Cézanne would explore extensively later in his career, including the cropped motif, dense composition, and orderly brushstrokes, as in the nearby Morning in Provence.

Paul Cézanne French, 1839–1906 Five Bathers, 1879–80 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Robert H. Tannahill, 70.162

In the mid-1870s, Paul Cézanne became increasingly fascinated with painting bathers in the landscape. The artist’s boyhood memories of swimming with his friends in Aix-en-Provence inspired scenes such as Five Bathers. However, although he wanted to pay homage to his recollections, the final paintings are far from simply nostalgic. His subjects, for instance, were not based on friends or neighbors but rather sketches he had made of Old Master paintings in the Louvre. Cézanne worked on such images in his studio, rather than out of doors where he rendered the landscape, several examples of which are also included in this exhibition. The different poses struck by these five figures point to Cézanne’s interest in the human form and its sequence of movement, ideas that similarly captivated Edgar Degas.

Paul Cézanne French, 1839–1906 Sous-bois (Under the Trees), ca. 1882–84 Pencil and watercolor on paper Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Room of Contemporary Art Fund, 1941

Under the Trees expresses a lyrical insight into the world of nature—a nature that can only be revealed through the eyes of an artist. Here, Paul Cézanne aimed to capture the eternal qualities of spring as a season of rebirth, when the paleness of tree bark is heightened in contrast with the browns of the earth and the greens of newly bursting buds. He created this watercolor, along with several other works featured in this exhibition, during a time when he was engrossed in the landscape of Provence, particularly the area in and around his home. It evokes Cézanne’s penchant for linear elements, scattered colors, and large areas of untouched paper. His prominent use of white space in the foreground of this composition is particularly arresting, causing the cluster of trees to appear as if they are levitating.

Paul Cézanne French, 1839–1906 Madame Cézanne, 1886–87 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Robert H. Tannahill, 70.160

When Paul Cézanne first met his wife Hortense Fiquet in 1869, she was a nineteen-year-old model. The two would go on to build a sometimes-contentious relationship, and Cézanne ultimately painted more than two dozen portraits of Hortense. In this image, her dour expression, severely parted hair, folded hands, and plain dress evoke a sense of quiet withdrawal. However, rather than expressing Hortense’s likeness or well-known personality, Cézanne embraced her familiarity as a means to explore the mechanics of painting. By rendering her figure and indeterminate background in the same manner and limited color palette, Cézanne was able to unify the overall composition.

Paul Cézanne French, 1839–1906 The Three Skulls, ca. 1898 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Robert H. Tannahill, 70.163

Paul Cézanne’s efforts to render a memento mori image in a contemplative, brooding manner culminated in this still life. Taking its name from a Latin phrase meaning “remember you must die,” memento mori painting became popular in the seventeenth century. Skulls, hourglasses, clocks, extinguished candles, rotting fruit and flowers, and other objects are intended to remind viewers of their mortality and the frailty of human life. The tilted table on which Cézanne’s three skulls sit underscores the painting’s themes of instability and uncertainty.

Paul Cézanne French, 1839–1906 Le Matin en Provence (Morning in Provence), ca. 1900–6 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Ribbel through the Frank E. Ribbel Bequest, 1936

Paul Cézanne painted this light-filled landscape late in his life while living in his hometown of Aix-en-Provence. Cézanne became obsessed with capturing the shift in atmospheric conditions between sunrise and early afternoon, waking at dawn to paint and often returning to the same spot many times to capture its variations during different weather. This practice of serial landscape painting was to have far-reaching effects in twentieth-century art. In a letter to his son from 1906, not long before he died, Cézanne stated, “The same subject seen from a different angle offers subject for study of the most powerful interest and so varied that I think I could occupy myself for months without changing place, by turning now more to the right, now more to the left.”

Paul Cézanne French, 1839–1906 Mont Sainte-Victoire, 1904–6 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Robert H. Tannahill, 70.161

Of all the landscape features Paul Cézanne explored near his home in Aix-en-Provence, Sainte-Victoire captivated him the most. The artist depicted it in every season, from all points of view. The majority of these approximately sixty paintings, watercolors, and drawings feature the elevation within a larger panorama. However, in this particular image, he concentrated on its bare, craggy peak. A boldly truncated pine tree at left frames the landmark, which takes up the majority of the composition. While Cézanne rendered the mountain in a mass of broad, airy brushstrokes, it still feels monumental, thanks in part to his choice to present it in a vertical format. At this point in his career, Cézanne often spent months painting the same canvas over and over until he had arrived at a scene that was timeless, encapsulating nature’s most vital forms.

William Merritt Chase American, 1849–1916 Portrait of a Man, 1873–76 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Fellows for Life Fund, 1926

William Merritt Chase painted this portrait, like The Whistling Boy nearby, while a student at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts from 1872 to 1877. During his time there, Chase developed a style marked by quick, bold brushstrokes and an overall dark, brooding palette. His decision to travel to Germany was unusual during an era in which Paris was a significant draw for many aspiring American artists. However, Chase felt that the city of Munich offered fewer distractions, allowing him to be more productive in his studies. While the man in this portrait is unidentified, a variant title suggests that he might be Russian, possibly someone the artist met on one of his frequent day trips to villages outside of the city. After returning to New York in 1878, Chase joined The Tile Club, an outdoor painting society, and soon abandoned somber colors in favor of the lighter tones he had encountered in the work of the French Impressionists.

William Merritt Chase American, 1849–1916 The Whistling Boy, 1875 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, City of Detroit Purchase, 29.260

This full-length portrait in profile by William Merritt Chase depicts an unknown German boy in dark pants, a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, russet vest, and plaid neckerchief who emerges from a dark, shadowy background. While details are limited, the young man’s apron and frothy stein of beer that he holds close to his body suggest he may be working in a pub. His slightly puckered lips are poised to carry a happy tune amid the murmur of the world around him. Like the adjacent Portrait of a Man, Chase painted this work while still a student at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. A similar scene was captured two years earlier by Chase’s close friend Frank Duveneck (1848–1919), an American artist who came to study at the Academy in 1869.

Gustave Courbet French, 1819–1877 Bather Sleeping by a Brook, 1845 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, City of Detroit Purchase, 27.202

Gustave Courbet chose to ignore his era’s widely accepted approach to painting, stating that an artist must apply, “his personal faculties to the ideas and the events of the times in which he lives.” To this end, Bather Sleeping by a Brook reveals a young Courbet’s transition toward a more radical, and at times shocking, approach to conventional subject matter. Here, the artist rendered an unencumbered and unidealized female in the landscape. Courbet’s nude figures, which he often based on photographs, were vehemently disliked by critics of the time. The vitality and the dedication with which the artist worked infused a sense of reality into his paintings that would significantly influence the future generation of Impressionists.

Gustave Courbet French, 1819–1877 La Source de la Loue (The Source of the Loue), ca. 1864 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, George B. and Jenny R. Mathews Fund, 1959

Although Gustave Courbet resided in Paris for most of his life, he remained closely connected to his birthplace, a region near the Swiss border called the Franche-Comté, returning often to paint the landscape and its people. One of the area’s natural wonders is the source of the Loue River, a scene Courbet painted numerous times beginning in 1848. The river is initially subterranean before emerging from the large grotto depicted here. Courbet mimicked the textures of rock and flowing water by thickly applying paint to the canvas with a palette knife. Somber browns and dark greens are punctuated by touches of red, pink, and blue, further conveying the cool dampness of place. Courbet aimed to make made bold social statements through his work, often courting scandal with his depictions of grave working-class conditions, and this seemingly straightforward rendering of a landscape is no exception. Although The Source of the Loue appears neutral, the foreboding darkness at the painting’s heart symbolizes the artist’s vehement opposition to the industrial endeavors that Napoleon III’s Second Empire brought to the French countryside so near and dear to his heart.

Edgar Degas French, 1834–1917 Morning Ride, ca. 1866 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Ralph Harman Booth Bequest Fund, 48.279

Morning Ride depicts four figures on horseback against a background of houses on a grassy cliff overlooking a harbor. The female rider near the center of the composition sports a Eugénie-style hat (named after the trendsetting French Empress) and rides sidesaddle. Accompanying her are an older, bearded male and a boy to the far right, perhaps suggesting a family outing. The tranquility of their ride is interrupted by a horseman who races toward them from the left. They pause, turning their heads toward the action. Morning Ride was found in Degas’s studio after his death, and it is believed that the artist purposely left this work unfinished or abandoned it altogether. The deep ocher primer is still prevalent in the top half of the canvas. This incomplete state gives the viewer a unique look into the artist’s working process, including the thick underdrawing of the horses and riders. Despite its sketch-like appearance, Degas was still able to build dynamism within the composition.

Edgar Degas French, 1834–1917 Mlle Fiocre dans le ballet “La Source” (Mademoiselle Fiocre in the Ballet “La Source”), 1866–68 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of Paul Rosenberg and Co., 1958

This work is one of several studies Edgar Degas made when working toward the finished painting—a scene inspired by the ballet La Source, a woodland fantasy set in a mythical Middle East. These were the first works in which the artist took up the motif of dancers and theatrical performance. Here, he portrays Eugénie Fiocre (French, 1845–1908), a renowned dancer who rose from humble origins to become the principal ballerina in the Paris Opéra, as Nourreda, the ballet’s lead role, in an extravagant production he saw in Paris in 1866. Rather than depict Fiocre at the height of a performance, Degas instead chose to capture her in a more private moment of contemplation during a rehearsal, seated alongside another figure in a nonspecific landscape. The artist executed the scene’s dark washes and watery reflections in a fluid, open brushwork that lends itself to the overall somber tone of the composition. Another work also included in this exhibition, Portrait of Rose Caron, exemplifies Degas’s ongoing desire to capture individual performers during moments of reprieve from the limelight.

Edgar Degas French, 1834–1917 Violinist and Young Woman, ca. 1871 Oil and crayon on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Robert H. Tannahill, 70.167

Music was a significant component of nineteenth-century Parisian culture, and Edgar Degas is known to have attended many of the musical soirees organized by his artistic colleague Édouard Manet. Violinist and Young Woman depicts two figures just before, or after, a lesson or rehearsal. Male-female musician pairs were a favorite motif in seventeenth-century Dutch painting and one that Manet also explored. For Degas, the theme offered the opportunity to explore the psyches of his subjects. Although the identities of the sitters are not known, Degas’s succinct use of color and body language makes it easy to imagine their characters. The female figure at left, loosely drawn in a frothily painted light gray dress, is tensely poised on the edge of her chair. Her expression conveys surprise and slight apprehension. She does not interact with the male figure, who is rendered more solidly in darker clothing. He also seems more at ease on his chair, immersed in the tuning of his instrument or, perhaps, still lost in the music.

Edgar Degas French, 1834–1917 Woman with a Bandage, 1872–73 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Robert H. Tannahill, 70.168

Edgar Degas first began to notice he had a blind spot in his right eye during his service as a national guardsman in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). Shortly after the end of the war, Degas traveled with his brother René to New Orleans, where a number of their relatives lived. During this time, he painted local life and family scenes, including Woman with a Bandage. Although the identity of the sitter in this image is not confirmed, she is believed to be Degas’s sister–in–law Estelle Mousson, who began losing her vision in 1866. Given the recent decline of the artist’s own sight, this tender portrait is all the more affecting. While in New Orleans, Degas came to realize that his right eye was permanently damaged. In an 1873 letter to painter James Tissot, he wrote, “To go to Louisiana to open one’s eyes, I cannot do that. And yet I kept them sufficiently half open to see my fill.” By 1890, the artist's left eye also began to deteriorate, forcing him to rely more on his peripheral vision to compensate for the loss.

Edgar Degas French, 1834–1917 Portrait of a Woman, 1877 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Ralph Harman Booth, 21.8

Edgar Degas dedicated most of his efforts toward rendering the human figure. The unidentified subject of this portrait appears lost in thought. She is surrounded by a flurry of brushwork, her body disappearing into a swath of black. The sitter’s features, which Degas timidly rendered as if sympathy were pulsating through his brush, are encapsulated in shadows against the glory of white dahlias and lavender asters that form a burst of light behind her head.

Edgar Degas French, 1834–1917 Dancers in the Green Room, ca. 1879 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, City of Detroit Purchase, 21.5

Dancers in the Green Room dates from a period in Edgar Degas’s career in which he shifted his focus from well-defined details to unexpected juxtapositions, incongruous proportions, and unusual formats. Here, a dancer rests her foot on a double bass while adjusting her slipper. While not an improbable scene, if the instrument were set upright, it would unrealistically tower over her. Degas used a similar wide format, which was influenced by the artist’s interest in contemporary Japanese woodblock prints, for all nine of his variations on the same subject. The configuration offered him the means to play with space, here allowing him to accentuate the steeply sloping floor and a long wall punctuated by windows that cast the room in light and shadow.

Edgar Degas French, 1834–1917 Jockeys on Horseback before Distant Hills, 1884 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of W. Warren and Virginia Shelden in memory of Mrs. Allan Shelden, 1998.65

Edgar Degas devoted much of his artistic output to sites of bourgeois leisure, such as the racetrack. He was captivated by the symbiotic relationship between horse and rider, especially jockeys’ ability to harness the brute power of their steeds, and he explored the theme across mediums. During the 1880s, the artist became more experimental in his approach to the subject, forgoing precise detail in favor of evoking less tangible moods. Despite the prominent placement of the figures in Jockeys on Horseback before Distant Hills, it is the landscape that largely conveys movement, echoing the rhythm of the horses and riders. As they journey into the distance, the undulant panorama appears to envelop them.

Edgar Degas French, 1834–1917 Étude de nu pour la danseuse habillée (Study in the Nude for the Dressed Ballet Dancer), 1879–80 (cast executed 1919–21 from original wax) Bronze, edition 56/B Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Friends of Albright Art Gallery and Edwin J. Weiss Funds, 1935

The devotion with which Edgar Degas observed Marie van Goethem (French, 1865–unknown), a young student of the Paris Opéra ballet school and model for his beloved wax figure Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, is evident in the extraordinary number of surviving preparatory sketches in charcoal and pastel, as well as this preliminary sculptural study. In the final version, the figure wears a bodice with an attached gauze tutu, linen ballet slippers, and a silk hair ribbon. The smaller bronze rendition presented here illustrates the awkwardness of adolescence that can be masked by clothing. Ballet dancers were a favorite subject of the artist, and this exhibition features an additional work on this theme, Dancers in the Green Room. Drawn to their expressive gestures and gentle natures, Degas once wrote to a friend, “It is the movement of things and people which amuses and even consoles me.”

Edgar Degas French, 1834–1917 Spanish , modeled ca. 1884 (cast executed after 1919) Bronze, edition 45/Q Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Robert H. Tannahill, 69.302

Edgar Degas French, 1834–1917 Horse with Head Lowered, ca. 1885 (cast executed 1919–21) Bronze, edition 22/K Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Bequest of A. Conger Goodyear, 1966

Throughout his career, Edgar Degas was fascinated by equestrian culture. He painted numerous works on the theme, and two examples, Morning Ride and Jockeys on Horseback before Distant Hills, are also on view in this exhibition. Frequently, Degas chose to depict Thoroughbreds: horses reared explicitly for speed and as potential competitive racers. As the artist spent time with such animals, he further developed an innate ability to capture their elegant, spirited movements. After Degas’s death, nearly 150 clay and wax maquettes of horses and other subjects remained in his studio and apartment. Intimately sized sculptures such as this functioned more like three-dimensional sketches for the artist, allowing him to explore the dynamics of equine anatomy and movement, and it may never have been his intention to distinguish these works with the permanence of bronze. However, Degas’s heirs approved the casting of seventy-two figures from this group, including the work presented here.

Edgar Degas French, 1834–1917 Portrait de Mlle Rose Caron (Portrait of Rose Caron), ca. 1892 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Charles Clifton, Charles W. Goodyear and Elisabeth H. Gates Funds, 1943

The gesture of a woman pulling on a long glove is the focal point of this portrait by Edgar Degas. Rose Caron (French, 1857–1930) was a famous operatic soprano. Through his extensive social circle and consuming love of the theater, Degas came to know Caron quite well. As evidenced by his abundant depictions of ballet dancers and other stage performers, several of which are on view in this exhibition, the movements and physical traits of such individuals fascinated him. This image suggests that Degas was particularly drawn to Caron’s elongated, elegant arms. Here, dark fluid brushstrokes define the contours of her figure, silhouetted against a light background of brilliant reds, blues, yellows, greens, and browns. In this image, the artist positions the viewer as an observer of a typically private scene, possibly backstage.

Paul Gauguin French, 1848–1903 The Little Parisienne, ca. 1881 Patinated plaster Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, 1999.59

Although primarily known as a painter, Paul Gauguin also experimented with sculpture. The Little Parisienne dates from a period in which the artist was working through the influence of Impressionism. Its delicately modeled subject represents the kind of young girl who could be frequently seen strolling the streets of the then-modernizing Paris. While variations of this sculpture in bronze and carved wood also exist, the soft plaster of this version allowed Gauguin to work freely and imaginatively. The inspiration for this work may have been Edgar Degas’s Schoolgirl. The artist mentored Gauguin when he first joined the Impressionist circle, and the two remained close.

Paul Gauguin French, 1848–1903 Les Drames de la mer, Bretagne (Dramas of the Sea, Brittany) from the Volpini Suite, 1889 Hand-colored zincograph on canary yellow wove paper, first edition Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of ACG Trust, 1970

In June 1889, Paul Gauguin took part in the first public exhibition of the Symbolists, a group of post-Impressionist artists influenced by Pont-Aven and its surrounding region. Among Gauguin’s contributions was his first venture in printmaking: a series of ten zincographs (lithographs drawn on zinc plates) colored using a mixture of crayon and ink washes (the collection of prints later became known as the Volpini Suite after the proprietor of the café where the 1889 exhibition took place). Gauguin derived the subjects of these images from numerous works he executed in Brittany, Arles, and Martinique.

The image here portrays three women arrayed in quiet contemplation—Gauguin’s interpretation of The Three Marys motif found throughout much traditional Christian art. While earlier artists situated their figures at scenes of Christ’s crucifixion or resurrection, here Gauguin places his women on the edge of the cliffs of Le Pouldu in Brittany (he would similarly transport the motif to contemporary Brittany in The Yellow Christ, also on view in this exhibition). The title of this particular image was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s (American, 1809–1849) short story “A Descent into the Maelström,” in which a man recounts his survival of a shipwreck in a whirlpool, a choice by Gauguin that underscores the precarious nature of all human existence.

Paul Gauguin French, 1848–1903 Bretonnes à la barrière (Breton Women Beside a Fence) from the Volpini Suite, ca. 1889 Zincograph on canary yellow wove paper, first edition Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of ACG Trust, 1970

Paul Gauguin’s quest for a simpler, and more affordable, lifestyle drew him to the French region of Pont-Aven. This image captures what Gauguin loved about the area—rolling hills, neatly bordered fields, cozy stone cottages, as well as the Breton people and culture. Gauguin derived the body language of the main figure at right, with her back to the viewer and hands authoritatively placed at her hips, from his 1886 painting Breton Women. A third figure can be seen resting on the other side of the fence, seated next to a brindled cow. In an 1888 letter to artist Émile Schuffenecker (French, 1851–1934), Gauguin declared “I love Brittany. . . . When my clogs resound on the granite soil, I hear the muffled, dull, powerful tone that I seek in my painting.”

Paul Gauguin French, 1848–1903 Le Christ jaune (The Yellow Christ), 1889 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, General Purchase Funds, 1946

The Symbolists, who emerged during the 1880s, grew weary of modern society and sought escape from reality, often expressing their dreams and visions through vivid colors and forms. Paul Gauguin, a prominent member of this group, visited the small village of Pont-Aven in Brittany, France, during the summer of 1886 and became fascinated with its history, folklore, and rituals. It was there that the artist painted numerous scenes, including The Yellow Christ— his radical combination of Christian imagery with a fantastical color palette.

Gauguin based the central figure of this painting on a seventeenth-century painted wooden crucifix that hangs in the nearby Trémalo Chapel but replaced the sculpture’s original features with his own likeness. Here, he depicts Christ in a cloying yellow against a dark brown cross in a vibrant fall landscape. The artist said he chose such a bewildering color to convey the way he felt about the isolated life and piety of the peasants. The Yellow Christ includes several of these figures dressed in distinctive regional costume, kneeling at the foot of the cross. It is the evening hour of Angelus, a Catholic prayer recited daily at 6 am, noon, and 6 pm. In Brittany, the autumn harvest possessed profound spiritual significance, in part because grain was believed to undergo a process of death and rebirth parallel to Biblical narratives of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.

Paul Gauguin French, 1848–1903 Manaò tupapaú (Spirit of the Dead Watching), 1892 Oil on jute mounted on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, A. Conger Goodyear Collection, 1965

In 1891, after many years without commercial success in France, Paul Gauguin traveled to the island of Tahiti, speculating that such exotic imagery would sell well in Paris. The central figure in this painting is a young Tahitian girl named Teha’amana who lies on her stomach, glancing sideways at us. In this work, Gauguin said he was trying to represent the Polynesian fear of the tupapaú, or spirit of the dead, who appears here as an older woman in a black cloak. On the wall behind the bed are several feathery white forms, which the artist described as phosphorescent lights that exemplified the interest the spirits take in the living.

From this description, one might ascertain that the girl, who, according to Gauguin, was just thirteen years old at the time, is afraid of the specter. The artist later described their relationship as representing a series of dualities, including “youth and old age, light and darkness, and life and death.” Alternatively, could her apprehension be provoked by what she sees beyond the picture plane? During his time in Tahiti, Gauguin assumed the role not only of an artist framing and executing compositions, often projecting his own primitivist preconceptions in doing so, but also of a much older man who was in a position to take advantage of his subject. The work’s mysteriousness creates space for a great deal of open- ended discussion around its content as well as the artist’s intent.

Vincent van Gogh Dutch, 1853–1890 Self Portrait, 1887 Oil on artist board, mounted to wood panel Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, City of Detroit Purchase, 22.13

Vincent van Gogh chose to paint his own portrait on many occasions, noting in a letter to his brother Theo that he did so “for want of a better model.” While in Paris between 1886 and 1888, and under the influence of the brilliant colors of the Impressionists, van Gogh lightened his palette overall. Later in his career, he reserved such soft pigments for expressing particular moods. The artist’s stay in Paris was a relatively happy one, and in this painting, created during the summer of 1887, he portrays himself with an almost resilient appearance.

Vincent van Gogh Dutch, 1853–1890 La Maison de La Crau (The Old Mill), 1888 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Bequest of A. Conger Goodyear, 1966

In February 1888, Vincent van Gogh left the cold, dreary winter in Paris and moved to the town of Arles in the south of France. Not long after arriving, van Gogh wrote of his delight with the landscape he found there in a letter to his close friend, the artist Émile Bernard (French, 1868– 1941), “The stretches of water make patches of a beautiful emerald and a rich blue in the landscapes, as we see it in the Japanese prints. Pale orange sunsets making the fields look blue—glorious yellow suns.” Inspired by the variegation and light of the region, van Gogh created more than two hundred paintings in fifteen months, including The Old Mill. The exaggerated angles and vibrant hues the artist used to depict this scene reflect his belief that objects did not need to be reproduced on canvas as they appeared in real life and that color should express feeling. The mill of the work’s title prominently stands out against lapis blue mountains that rise to meet a seafoam sky. A man and woman, at left, appear humble in contrast to the beauty of a landscape they no doubt depend on for income and nourishment.

Vincent van Gogh Dutch, 1853–1890 Portrait of Postman Roulin, 1888 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Buhl Ford II, 1996.25

In February 1888 Vincent van Gogh moved to Arles, in the south of France. Between late July 1888 and April 1889, he painted at least six portraits of Joseph Roulin (French, 1841–1903), a local postman; van Gogh became acquainted with Roulin at a nearby café. Here, the artist concentrated on Roulin’s head, which he described in a letter to his younger sister Willemien as “a head something like that of Socrates, almost no nose, a high forehead, bald pate [head], small grey eyes, high-colored cheeks, a big beard, pepper and salt, big ears.” This is the second of two portraits van Gogh painted of Roulin between the end of July and August; it is possible that van Gogh felt the first portrait was too posed and a less exuberant rendering of his subject. The artist also executed several portraits of Augustine Roulin, the postman’s wife, as well as their children—pleased to depict, in his own words, “a whole family.”

Childe Hassam American, 1859–1935 Brook Back of New Canaan, Conn., 1902 Pastel on tan paperboard Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of Frederick K. Mixer, Esq. in memory of his mother, Mary E. Mixer, 1916

Following his exposure to the work of the French Impressionists during three years of study in Paris, became one of the leading practitioners of Impressionism in America. His primary interest, like that of his European counterparts, was the translation of atmosphere and light into paint and canvas or, here, pastel and paper. While oil paint was his preferred medium, the artist found that pastel was easier to use en plein air, or “out of doors.” Brook Back of New Canaan, Conn. depicts one of the artist's favorite spots in the New England countryside. Adeptly wielding a stick of pure pigment, Hassam was able to create the appearance of sparkling sunlight bouncing off the surface of a babbling brook through the interplay of the tan paper and a series of repetitive blue marks.

Childe Hassam American, 1859–1935 Church at Old Lyme, Connecticut, 1905 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Albert H. Tracy Fund, 1909

While in France from 1886 to 1889, Childe Hassam came into close contact with Impressionism, and he remained faithful to its characteristic style throughout the rest of his career. After his return to the United States, the artist settled permanently in New York, where he maintained a winter studio. However, during the summer, Hassam would regularly travel to several New England locations, including Old Lyme, Connecticut, to paint. Hassam, a native of Boston, referred to the region’s churches, which he first encountered as a child, as “masterpieces of architecture,” and the white church on Meeting House Hill was no exception. Here, Hassam, in a flurry of lively brushstrokes, depicts the house of worship settled among ancient elm trees in the crisp atmosphere of early fall. A fire destroyed the structure two years after Hassam completed his painting, but it was quickly rebuilt following the original plans.

Childe Hassam American, 1859–1935 Church at Old Lyme, 1906 Pastel on green paper Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of Mrs. Theodore G. Kenefick, 1962

Winslow Homer American, 1836–1910 Croquet Players, 1865 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Charles Clifton and James G. Forsyth Funds, 1941

Between 1865 and 1870, Winslow Homer made four paintings centered on the theme of croquet; this work is the earliest example. Homer served during the Civil War (1861–65) as a battlefront correspondent and illustrator for Harper’s Weekly. Afterward, he dedicated much of the rest of his career to creating affecting images of everyday American life that reflect nostalgia for more peaceful times. A hopeful alfresco scene set in the countryside, Croquet Players is emblematic of post–Civil War American genre painting. The game of croquet was introduced in the United States during the early 1860s and quickly gained popularity as an outdoor recreational activity. Homer was attracted to the game’s ability to bring people together. In his work from this time, he shared the Impressionists’ use of a high-keyed color palette and interest in depicting sunlight, and in 1866, the artist took a ten-month sojourn to Paris and its surrounding countryside.

Winslow Homer American, 1836–1910 The Four-Leaf Clover, 1873 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Robert H. Tannahill, 70.150

Seen here is a young girl in a white dress seated among grass and flowers. She grasps a four- leaf clover—a widely recognized symbol of wishful thinking and good fortune. While the painting overall conveys a bucolic impression, there are discordant elements: the girl is seated in front of a pot of bleeding hearts and stares at a dark, partially opened window, perhaps suggesting a lack of closure or that something more sinister lies within. While images such as The Four-Leaf Clover offered audiences a ray of hope and optimism in the aftermath of the Civil War (1861–65), they are also powerful reminders of the unresolved conflicts Homer sought to memorialize.

Winslow Homer American, 1836–1910 Woman and Elephant, ca. 1877 Watercolor and opaque watercolor over graphite on smooth, medium-thick, cream wove paper Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of Mrs. John W. Ames, 1959

Winslow Homer began seriously exploring watercolor in 1873. He was drawn to the medium’s fluidity and the way it imparted light and air in his paintings. Homer’s compositions from the late 1870s frequently depict the day-to-day life of women and children, and the female subject of Woman and Elephant appears in several works the artist made during this time. She is thought to have been an unrequited love interest and is often portrayed as pensive and aloof, engrossed in activities such as reading. Here she is seated in profile, seemingly riveted by a splendidly colored elephant figurine that sits on top of a table. Despite its lack of clear narrative, the composition expresses sentiments of romance and longing.

Édouard Manet French, 1832–1883 On the Beach, ca. 1868 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Robert H. Tannahill, 70.173

Although he declined to participate in any of the Impressionists’ eight group exhibitions, Édouard Manet was instrumental in translating the revolutionary Realism of earlier painters, such as Gustave Courbet, for this younger generation. The artist was also influenced by his Impressionist friends in turn, but it was his early employment of loose brushstrokes and injection of unconventional elements into genre painting that intrigued and excited his emerging peers. On the Beach takes as its subject two female bathers relaxing at the water’s edge. Manet defined the women and the additional people in the water with an expressive, sketch-like mark-making, unifying the figures with the bobbing waves. Depictions of middle- class leisure activities ultimately became a popular theme among the subsequent generation of artists.

Willard Leroy Metcalf American, 1858–1925 The White Veil, 1909 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Charles Willis Ward, 15.12

In 1897, Willard Leroy Metcalf, Childe Hassam, John Twachtman, and seven other American artists who shared a reverence for Impressionist painting organized themselves and exhibited their work together as The Ten. During this time, Metcalf often traveled throughout the Northeast. He was drawn to the region for its cycle of distinct seasons, relishing the new buds of spring, the radiance of summer, the foliage of fall, and the hush that falls over the landscape in winter. One of his favorite places to work was Old Lyme, Connecticut, a town frequently painted by Hassam as well. In 1909, he spent the first of many winters amid the hills of Cornish, New Hampshire. The White Veil is the later and larger of two nearly identical canvases with the same title painted during this time. While the earlier and smaller iteration is thought to have been painted out of doors, it is likely Metcalf worked on the version seen here predominantly in his studio.

Willard Leroy Metcalf American, 1858–1925 Pelago—Tuscany, 1913 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Sherman S. Jewett Fund, 1917

Following several years spent studying in France, during which time he frequented Claude Monet’s home and studio at Giverny, Willard Leroy Metcalf devoted most of his life to painting the New England countryside. However, he traveled often and in 1913 went to Norway, England, and Italy, where he would have encountered the Tuscan town of Pelago. Here, figures dotted throughout the landscape are dwarfed by a group of buildings clustered on top of a hill. Building up the composition in a series of delicate, short brushstrokes in a subdued palette of gray blues, earthy greens, and soft lavenders, Metcalf continued to maintain his distinctively American brand of Impressionism.

Claude Monet French, 1840–1926 Chemin de halage à Argenteuil (Towpath at Argenteuil, Winter), 1875–76 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of Charles Clifton, 1919

In 1871, following the end of the Franco-Prussian War, the newly wed Claude Monet moved from London to Argenteuil—a town located northwest of Paris on the River Seine. There, Monet often worked from a boat-turned-studio to observe the effects of sunlight on the water. He remained in the area until 1878 and was joined for a time by artists Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Édouard Manet, and . From this point on, the picturesque town of Argenteuil became a hub of artistic activity. Towpath at Argenteuil, Winter contrasts two landscapes. This serene winterscape dotted with smokestacks along the right of the horizon portrays country life against the backdrop of industrialization. A slight opening in the heavy overcast sky melts snow along the riverbanks, and the faint flush of green in the trees hints at spring and, for Monet, the beginning of a new chapter in his life with his wife, Camille.

Claude Monet French, 1840–1926 Rounded Flower Bed, 1876 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, City of Detroit Purchase, 21.71

Claude Monet felt the encroaching of effects of industry and modernization on the landscape. Alongside the standardized work week emerged the concept of the weekend trip to the countryside. His own town of Argenteuil was in flux, as new roads and businesses appeared to accommodate increased tourism. Monet retreated to his home and private garden, which provided the subject matter for this painting. The figure standing under a parasol is the artist’s wife, Camille. However, it is a rounded flower bed of tall gladioli that dominates the composition. The flowers, butterflies that flit about, and even his wife’s face have been broken down into individual dabs of color—the sun, which shines from the left, casts multicolored shadows on the path, illuminating only the bed of flowers.

Berthe Morisot French, 1841–1895 Femme cousant (Woman Sewing), ca. 1879 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Fellows for Life Fund, 1926

One of the few female painters associated with Impressionism, Berthe Morisot created a niche for herself with intimate portraits of women and children rendered in a delicately harmonious color palette. Morisot’s mother encouraged her at a young age to develop her talent, and she spent hours at the Louvre copying Old Master paintings. Woman Sewing depicts a female figure in profile whose head is bowed while absorbed in her work. She unselfconsciously performs this apparently routine activity silhouetted against a distinctly bourgeois interior. This resplendent composition embodies the quintessential traits of Morisot’s style—a quotidian subject, a seemingly natural composition, rapid brushwork, and a unifying light that rakes across the canvas, weaving in and out of colored daubs.

Camille Pissarro French, born Saint Thomas, 1830–1903 The Kitchen at Piette’s, Montfoucault, 1874 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Edward E. Rothman, 75.31

This work is believed to depict the interior of the house anchoring the background of Farm at Montfoucault, at left. In this tender, affecting tableau, a woman is seated in a large kitchen, cradling an infant in her arms. The outer garments casually tossed on a chair and blazing fire suggest colder weather. Camille Pissarro was able to convey the sentiment he felt for his subject in warm hues accentuated by pops of yellow and blue. While he employed a similar color palette in the exterior landscape, Pissarro there let the cool blues and gray dominate, evoking a feel of drab chill.

Camille Pissarro French, born Saint Thomas, 1830–1903 La Ferme à Montfoucault (Farm at Montfoucault), 1874 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Bequest of Miss Gertrude Watson, 1938

In the 1860s, Camille Pissarro began visiting the farm estate of Ludovic Piette (French, 1826– 1877), a close friend and fellow painter, located at Montfoucault on the Mayenne River in eastern Brittany. Pissarro arrived at the farm in the fall of 1874, following the first Impressionist exhibition, hoping to focus on images of “the true countryside.” Along with Farm at Montfoucault, he completed numerous compositions of women engaged in their daily routines there. However, the artist was still struggling to develop his style of Impressionism. In a letter to French writer and critic Théodore Duret (1838–1927), Pissarro wrote, “I haven’t worked badly here. I have been tackling figures and animals. I have several genre pictures. I am rather chary [hesitant] about going in for a branch of art in which first-rate artists have so distinguished themselves. It is a very bold thing to do, and I am afraid of making a complete failure of it.”

Camille Pissarro French, born Saint Thomas, 1830–1903 Les Chevaux de bois, fête à Osny (Carousel, Festival at Osny), 1883 Pastel and tempera on paper mounted on board Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Bequest of A. Conger Goodyear, 1966

Camille Pissarro French, born Saint Thomas, 1830–1903 The Path, 1889 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, City of Detroit Purchase, 21.34

Camille Pissarro French, born Saint Thomas, 1830–1903 Paysans dans les champs, Éragny (Peasants in the Fields, Éragny), 1890 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of A. Conger Goodyear, 1940

Later in his career, Camille Pissarro was deeply affected by Georges Seurat’s theories and techniques. The two first met in 1885, and the influence between them was mutual. Peasants in the Fields, Éragny demonstrates Pissarro’s brief experimentation with Pointillism, which Seurat helped to develop. Artists using this technique cover their canvases in distinct dots of color, rather than in large patches of paint, to create an image that visually coheres at a distance. In 1884 Pissarro purchased a country home in Éragny, northwest of Paris. He often painted the surrounding area, focusing on the subject of rural life. In this work, Pissarro conscientiously applied each mark of paint, creating shadows using deep blue, violet, green, and orange. This simple scene, reminiscent of his earlier works from Montfoucault, is warmed by sentiment for his subject matter as much as the sunshine Pissarro so vividly suggests.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir French, 1841–1919 Clearing in the Woods, 1865 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Ruth Nugent Head, in memory of her mother,

Anna E. Kresge, and her husband, Henry W. Nugent Head, 1985.25

While the landscape held a special place in the imagination of many Impressionist painters, it was never a principal focus for Pierre-Auguste Renoir. However, he very occasionally left the studio for the countryside, executing a handful of paintings devoid of human subjects. In Clearing in the Woods—a painting that predates the official formation of the Impressionist group—Renoir also experimented with using a palette knife to deliver paint to the canvas, a technique exemplified by Gustave Courbet in works such as the nearby Source of the Loue.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir French, 1841–1919 Woman in an Armchair, 1874 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Mrs. Allan Shelden III, 1985.24

The transient and temporal pleasures in life were among Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s favorite themes. This study of a woman seated in an armchair, whose identity remains unknown, is a fleeting moment turned nostalgic memory. Renoir focused his flurry of rapid brushwork predominantly on the woman’s light-dappled face and bust, which comprise strokes of blue, yellow, pink, and purple.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir French, 1841–1919 Petit nu bleu (Little Blue Nude), ca. 1878–79 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, General Purchase Funds, 1941

During the late 1870s, Pierre-Auguste Renoir began incorporating Impressionist techniques into his renderings of the human figure—a process that would lay the foundations for the rest of his artistic career. Ultimately, he developed an ideal body type: placid, soft-textured women who possess physical qualities reminiscent of the voluptuous nymphs often depicted in eighteenth-century French Rococo painting. The artist became increasingly preoccupied with the ways in which light danced over these supple, receptive surfaces, and his preferred subject after 1876 was the nude bather. The model that sat for Little Blue Nude is traditionally identified as Marguerite “Margot” Legrand (French, unknown–1879), a young woman whose skin, Renoir said, “took the light.” He painted her several times and here, she appears in a sleepy, dream- like state, posed in a natural, but abstracted, landscape. In the artist’s own words, such paintings embody his desire, “to paint nudes as if they were some splendid fruit.”

John Singer Sargent American, 1856–1925 Venetian Bead Stringers, 1880 or 1882 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Friends of the Albright Art Gallery Fund, 1916

John Singer Sargent was fond of making studies in watercolor or oil, and often sketched the everyday scenes or incidents that caught his eye during his frequent travels throughout Europe. He executed this painting of bead stringers at work during either an 1880 or 1882 trip to Venice. In this painting, only one of the women holds the shallow wooden tray customarily used for this type of tedious work. The other two figures are grouped close to her, as if engaged in a conversation, yet each appears to be absorbed in thought.

John Singer Sargent American, 1856 1925 Madame Paul Poirson, 1885 Oil on canvas Collection Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase with funds from Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Manoogian, the Beatrice Rogers Fund, Gibbs-Williams Fund and Ralph Harman Booth Bequest Fund, 73.41

Born to American parents in Florence, Italy, John Singer Sargent traveled throughout his childhood and, in 1874, his father moved the family to Paris to nourish his son’s talent as an artist. Sargent first encountered the Impressionists and their art in 1876 at the second of the group’s exhibitions; he and Claude Monet would go on to become good friends. Sargent’s aptitude for capturing a subject’s personality in an Impressionist style made him a prominent portraitist within the social circles of Paris, London, and New York. Among his wealthy Parisian clients were Seymourina Cuthbert, the sitter for this portrait, and her husband, Paul Poirson, from whom he rented a studio beginning in 1883. According to Poirson family lore, Sargent may have painted this portrait in place of his rent. While the impetus behind the painting’s creation was possibly business-oriented, Sargent was also friends with the couple, a relationship reflected in this moving image. Here, the disposition of the subject’s elongated figure is natural and straightforward. While at first she appears aloof, her doe-like eyes imply a gentleness to her character.

Georges Seurat French, 1859–1891 Le Bateau à vapeur (Steamboat), ca. 1882–85 Conté crayon on paper Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of A. Conger Goodyear, 1955

Georges Seurat French, 1859–1891 La Nourrice (Nurse), 1884–85 Conté crayon on paper Collection Albright–Knox Art Gallery, Gift of A. Conger Goodyear, 1963

Between 1884 and 1885, Georges Seurat produced more than twenty preliminary drawings for A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884, many of them representing specific figures depicted in the final painting. Here, a distinctive bonnet and ribbon marks a nurse who accompanies an elderly patient, but the tree trunk bending around her bulky form and the dark rectangle defining a man’s top hat at lower left are devoid of all identifying details. Although this work served primarily as a preparatory exercise, it is also exemplary of Seurat’s innovative and evocative drawing style.

Georges Seurat French, 1859–1891 Étude pour “La Grande Jatte” (Study for “La Grande Jatte”), 1884–85 Oil on wood Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of

A. Conger Goodyear, 1948

After encountering the work of the Impressionists, Georges Seurat shifted away from the foundations of his academic training and began studying color theory, eventually becoming a leading proponent of Neo-Impressionism. Members of the group sought to apply the theory of mélange optique (optical mixture) to their art. Rather than mixing the pigment to a desired tone before applying it to the canvas, these artists relied on viewers’ eyes to combine adjacent colors as part of their experience of the paintings.

Building on this theory, Seurat developed a technique called Pointillism, in which small dots of unmixed pigment blend together only when viewed from a distance. This intimate painting is one of seventy small preparatory studies the artist made for his first monumental work of art using this new methodology—A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884. Over the course of six months, Seurat visited this Parisian island daily to sketch and observe. In contrast to the systematic marks applied to the finished tableau, such studies feature shorter, more varied brushstrokes. The color palette, however, remains consistently vivid throughout all the preparatory works and the final version.

Georges Seurat French, 1859–1891 Étude pour “Le Chahut” (Study for “Le Chahut”), 1889 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, General Purchase Funds, 1943

This work is the larger of two studies Georges Seurat executed for the painting Le Chahut. In contrast to Study for “La Grande Jatte,” Seurat’s rhythmic application of color here creates, rather than stifles, movement within the composition. The artist even continued his brushwork onto the dark border of the frame, using it as an integral aspect of his presentation. Seurat believed that art should reflect real-life experiences, and this image is exemplary of a period in which he almost exclusively depicted elements of the circus and Parisian cabaret acts. Here, we are presented with an audience’s view of dancers nearing the end of the performance of a risqué cancan-style dance called the chahut. Through a series of repetitive, rhythmic lines, Seurat drives the scene upward. This visual momentum is further reinforced by a leering male spectator in the lower right-hand corner, who appears fixated on the female dancer in full view. His presence and body language in the finished tableau beckon attention to the power dynamics between men and women, and middle and lower classes.

Everett Shinn American, 1876–1953 Theater Box, 1906 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of T. Edward Hanley, 1937

While working as a newspaper illustrator for The Philadelphia Press, Everett Shinn met Robert Henri (American, 1865–1929), George Luks (American, 1867–1933), and William Glackens (American, 1870–1938), a group of artists who would become critical members of the Ashcan School in New York City. Unlike the many of their French Impressionist peers, the Ashcan School painters focused almost exclusively on urban scenes as opposed to the landscape, championing subjects such immigrants and the working class. A trip to Paris proved a significant turning point in Shinn’s career. There, he became fascinated with the theater and began painting Parisian nightlife in a manner reminiscent of Edgar Degas. Theatre Box, for example, shares the unusual vantage points and theatrical lighting preferred by Degas. Shinn painted this work after his return to the United States based on drawings and recollections from his trip.

Alfred Sisley French and British, 1839–1899 Rue de village à Marlotte (Village Street in Marlotte), 1866 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, General Purchase Funds, 1956

Although Alfred Sisley is considered one of the key figures of Impressionism, he remained somewhat of an outsider from the group. In 1865, Sisley moved from Paris to Marlotte, a small town located in north central France, and this painting is one of two he made based on his initial encounters with the new landscape he found there. Village Street in Marlotte portrays a solitary figure chopping wood. A somber palette of greens, browns, and grey-blues underscores an overall feeling of isolation. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Sisley seldom traveled and did not feel compelled to depict urban life, industrialization, and the more dramatic aspects of nature, contenting himself with painting the world close at hand.

James Tissot French, 1836–1902 L’Ambitieuse (Political Woman) from the series “La Femme à Paris,” 1883–85 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of William M. Chase, 1909

Political Woman belongs to a series of fifteen paintings depicting some of James Tissot’s most trenchant observations of late nineteenth-century Parisian society. The political arena inhabited by this painting’s main subject is a social one. The implication, suggested by Tissot’s complex visual narrative, is that this young woman has styled herself as a vital guest in the ballrooms and salons frequented by the French upper class in order to improve her own position. As she enters a crowded room on the arm of a much older gentleman, male heads turn, staring or exchanging whispered comments. Yielding to this attention, she forces an uncomfortable smile. Her dress, which Tissot rendered in extravagant pink and exquisite detail, is out of place among the latest fashions sported by the other women at the party. By documenting what he believed made the Parisian woman unique, Tissot aimed to prove he was familiar with the inner workings of this decidedly modern society.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec French, 1864–1901 Femme retroussant sa chemise (Woman Lifting Her Chemise), 1901 Oil on wood panel Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Gift of A. Conger Goodyear, 1956

Despite his noble birth, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec chose to live his life outside polite society. As both a patron and lodger, he moved in and out of brothels, often spending his evenings sketching in the corners of Parisian cafés. He found comfort within these walls of wantonness. Choosing to place himself among the marginalized, he was treated in many ways like a family member—sharing meals with the women and earning their trust. Toulouse-Lautrec viewed prostitutes with great compassion, and his artworks reveal the ordinary aspects of their lives. The female figure in Woman Lifting Her Chemise raises her garment in anticipation of a compulsory medical examination, a theme featured in several of his paintings. This work was created when, at the age of thirty-seven, the artist’s own health had already deteriorated as a result of long-term alcoholism, which prompted, in part, a darkening of his palette and a focus on interior scenes.

John Henry Twachtman American, 1853–1902 The Wild Cherry Tree, ca. 1900 Oil on canvas Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Charles W. Goodyear Fund, 1916

Between 1883 and 1885, traveled throughout France, advancing his studies and work. It was in Paris that he encountered other American artists influenced by and working in an Impressionist style, such as Childe Hassam and Willard Leroy Metcalf. Turned off by the somber, dark canvases of artists who had come out of the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, Twachtman began to favor a lighter palette. After returning to the United States, he settled in an old farmhouse with surrounding land in Connecticut. Although he had several close friends and acquaintances, Twachtman preferred solitude and the ease he felt when communing with nature, painting in all seasons. Here the artist situates the viewer on a hillside along the shore of an inlet or bay dotted with sailboats; a boathouse anchors where the water meets the land. However, obscuring this view is a single cherry tree, heavy with leaves. The entire scene, which Twachtman captured in rapid, splintery strokes of pale greens and blues, materializes as if flooded with intense summer light.

Édouard Vuillard French, 1868–1940 Le Peintre Ker-Xavier Roussel et sa fille (The Painter Ker-Xavier Roussel and His Daughter), 1903 Oil on cardboard Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Room of Contemporary Art Fund, 1943

Édouard Vuillard and Ker-Xavier Roussel (French, 1867–1964) were both members of the Nabis—a group of post-Impressionist artists who were committed to a subjective form of art deeply rooted in the soul. Nabi means “prophet” in both Arabic and Hebrew. Although the Nabis ascribed to certain formal tenets, their visual solutions and subject matter varied greatly. Vuillard chose to paint the familiar, stating, “I don’t paint portraits. I paint people at home.” The artist balanced the vast array of distinct patterns depicted in this sunlit interior through careful placement of the figures and furniture. Vuillard believed that the mere suggestion of an object or situation could produce a far more powerful impression than a more detailed rendering. Thus summarized in a few precise brushstrokes, Roussel and his daughter Annette, the artist’s brother-in-law and niece, do not stand out in this composition; they are simply another part of the room and its decor.