National Gallery Washington DC

William Stanley Haseltine (artist) American, 1835 - 1900 Natural Arch at Capri, 1871 oil on canvas overall: 86.4 x 139.7 cm (34 x 55 in.) framed: 123.2 x 174 x 14 cm (48 1/2 x 68 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.) Gift of Guest Services, Inc., in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art 1989.13.1 Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=70987

André Giroux (painter) French, 1801 - 1879 Forest Interior with a Waterfall, Papigno, 1825/1830 oil on paper overall: 29.5 x 44.5 cm (11 5/8 x 17 1/2 in.) framed: 42.6 x 57.5 x 5.6 cm (16 3/4 x 22 5/8 x 2 3/16 in.) Gift of Mrs. John Jay Ide in memory of Mr. and Mrs. William Henry Donner 1994.52.4 Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=74993

Frédéric Bazille (artist) French, 1841 - 1870 Young Woman with Peonies, 1870 oil on canvas overall: 60 x 75 cm (23 5/8 x 29 1/2 in.) framed: 83.8 x 99.4 x 7.6 cm (33 x 39 1/8 x 3 in.) Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon 1983.1.6 In 1862, Bazille arrived in Paris to study both medicine, at his parents' insistence, and art, his preference. He joined the academic teaching studio run by Charles Gleyre, where he met Monet, Renoir, and Sisley. Attracted by the modernist tendencies of avant–garde art, the four abandoned the studio in favor of direct observation of nature. Working in close harmony, they gradually invented impressionism. Bazille's output was cut short when he was killed in 1870 during the Franco–Prussian War. Early in the summer of 1870, before the outbreak of war, Bazille painted two similar works depicting a black woman with a lush array of flowers. Avoiding anecdotal specificity, the woman in the National Gallery painting is posed as a vendor extending a clutch of peonies chosen from her basket laden with seasonal blooms. The proffered peonies, flowers cultivated by Manet and the subject of a series of still lifes he painted in 1864­–1865, are firmly portrayed in a manner reminiscent of Manet. Extending his modest tribute to the debonair leader of the avant–garde, Bazille's composition also alludes to one of Manet's most celebrated and notorious works, Olympia (Musée d'Orsay, Paris), in which a black servant offers a floral tribute to a naked prostitute. Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=61356

Edouard Manet (artist) French, 1832 - 1883 The Dead Toreador, probably 1864 oil on canvas overall: 75.9 x 153.3 cm (29 7/8 x 60 3/8 in.) framed: 104.4 x 181.6 x 7.6 cm (41 1/8 x 71 1/2 x 3 in.) Widener Collection 1942.9.40 Not on View From the Tour: Manet and His Influence In 1864 Manet exhibited a large painting he called Episode from a Bullfight. Critics complained that its image of a fallen matador was out of proportion to the bull that had just gored him. "A wooden bullfighter, killed by a horned rat," one sneered. At some point, Manet cut the painting apart, creating two smaller, more powerful works: The Dead Toreador, here, and The Bullfight, now in the Frick Collection, New York. Although Manet may have acted in response to the harsh criticism, it was not uncommon for him to rework compositions. He repainted the background, extracting the figure from the context of the bullfight, and in so doing changed the nature of his painting. The fallen matador is no longer part of a narrative but is instead an icon, an isolated and compelling figure of sudden and violent death. From the now featureless background the man's body is dramatically foreshortened, thrusting toward the viewer. Its proximity and isolation are startling. Only the man's costume informs us about him, traces of blood the only signs of a painful death. Manet's choice of a Spanish subject—he did many early in his career—reflects his interest in the seventeenth-century painter Velázquez, as does the dramatic organization of the composition and his palette of rich, dark tones. Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=1179

Edouard Manet (artist) French, 1832 - 1883 Plum Brandy, c. 1877 oil on canvas overall: 73.6 x 50.2 cm (29 x 19 3/4 in.) framed: 87.6 x 64.1 x 5.7 cm (34 1/2 x 25 1/4 x 2 1/4 in.) Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon 1971.85.1 What is the situation of this young woman? Her cigarette suggests a certain impropriety—perhaps she is a prostitute waiting for a customer. Or, more likely, given her modest dress, she is only a shopgirl hoping for company. Manet's composition underscores her isolation. Our vantage point is close, as if we stand above her, but she is blind to our presence, lost in a pensive mood. The hard marble table acts as a bar between us. And her head is set off, framed by the grille behind her. The grille suggests that the setting may be the Café de la Nouvelle-Athènes where Manet gathered often with other members of the avant-garde, including writer Emile Zola and younger painters like Monet and Renoir. It was Zola who drew attention to what is often called the "painted patch" style of Manet's work. Writing in 1867, he described it as "an ensemble of delicate, accurate taches ('touches' or 'patches') which, from a few steps back, give a striking relief to the picture." Notice how individual dabs of color create the plum in its glass and the fingers of the woman's left hand. These broad strokes, accepted by many younger artists as a badge of modernity, could only have been made with the sort of flat-tipped brushes familiar today—and these first became available in the nineteenth century. Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=53034

Edouard Manet (artist) French, 1832 - 1883 Plum Brandy, c. 1877 oil on canvas overall: 73.6 x 50.2 cm (29 x 19 3/4 in.) framed: 87.6 x 64.1 x 5.7 cm (34 1/2 x 25 1/4 x 2 1/4 in.) Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon 1971.85.1 What is the situation of this young woman? Her cigarette suggests a certain impropriety—perhaps she is a prostitute waiting for a customer. Or, more likely, given her modest dress, she is only a shopgirl hoping for company. Manet's composition underscores her isolation. Our vantage point is close, as if we stand above her, but she is blind to our presence, lost in a pensive mood. The hard marble table acts as a bar between us. And her head is set off, framed by the grille behind her. The grille suggests that the setting may be the Café de la Nouvelle-Athènes where Manet gathered often with other members of the avant-garde, including writer Emile Zola and younger painters like Monet and Renoir. It was Zola who drew attention to what is often called the "painted patch" style of Manet's work. Writing in 1867, he described it as "an ensemble of delicate, accurate taches ('touches' or 'patches') which, from a few steps back, give a striking relief to the picture." Notice how individual dabs of color create the plum in its glass and the fingers of the woman's left hand. These broad strokes, accepted by many younger artists as a badge of modernity, could only have been made with the sort of flat-tipped brushes familiar today—and these first became available in the nineteenth century. Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=53034

Berthe Morisot (painter) French, 1841 - 1895 The Sisters, 1869 oil on canvas overall: 52.1 x 81.3 cm (20 1/2 x 32 in.) framed: 64.9 x 94 x 5 cm (25 9/16 x 37 x 1 15/16 in.) Gift of Mrs. Charles S. Carstairs 1952.9.2 Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=42285

Berthe Morisot (artist) French, 1841 - 1895 The Harbor at Lorient, 1869 oil on canvas overall: 43.5 x 73 cm (17 1/8 x 28 3/4 in.) framed: 64.7 x 95.2 x 7.6 cm (25 1/2 x 37 1/2 x 3 in.) Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection 1970.17.48 Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=52192

Berthe Morisot (artist) French, 1841 - 1895 The Harbor at Lorient, 1869 oil on canvas overall: 43.5 x 73 cm (17 1/8 x 28 3/4 in.) framed: 64.7 x 95.2 x 7.6 cm (25 1/2 x 37 1/2 x 3 in.) Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection 1970.17.48 Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=52192

Edgar Degas (artist) French, 1834 - 1917 Madame René de Gas, 1872/1873 oil on canvas overall: 72.9 x 92 cm (28 11/16 x 36 1/4 in.) framed: 100.3 x 119.7 cm (39 1/2 x 47 1/8 in.) Chester Dale Collection 1963.10.124 The impressionist style was incompatible with Degas' meticulous paint handling and premeditated method of composing, and he preferred "independent" or "realist" to "impressionist" as the name of the movement. Degas did help establish and direct the impressionist organization, however, and participated in seven of the eight exhibitions. He selected insistently modern themes -- ballet dancers, laundresses, prostitutes, cafés and café-concerts, and racetracks -- and depicted them in numerous variations. One other recurring genre was portraiture. Degas selected family and friends as models rather than paint commissioned portraits, and his portraits are often unconventional characterizations. This portrait of Estelle Musson Balfour de Gas, the artist's first cousin and sister-in-law, was painted during Degas' 1872-1873 visit to New Orleans. The 1871 discovery of the deterioration of his own vision sensitized the artist to Estelle's near-blindness when he visited the next year. Posture, gesture, accessories, and activities were often used by Degas to characterize the models in his portraits. Such incidental details were deliberately omitted here, a similarly informative decision. The soft focus of the painting, subdued and nearly monochromatic color harmonies, and Estelle's unfocused gaze parallel her limited visual capacity and indicate the artist's respect for Estelle and compassionate understanding of her situation. Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=46599

Camille Pissarro (artist) French, 1830 - 1903 Place du Carrousel, Paris, 1900 oil on canvas overall: 54.9 x 65.4 cm (21 5/8 x 25 3/4 in.) framed: 79.7 x 89.5 x 10.1 cm (31 3/8 x 35 1/4 x 4 in.) Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection 1970.17.55 Better known for rural subjects, Pissarro came to paint urban scenes only late in his career after eye problems prevented him from working outdoors. He rented rooms that afforded him views into the streets of Rouen, Paris, and other cities. Probably influenced by Monet’s series paintings, he set up a number of easels to work simultaneously on different canvases as light and weather conditions changed. This is one of twenty–eight views he painted of the Tuileries Gardens from a hotel room in the rue de Rivoli. The buildings depicted are part of the Louvre. With this sidelong view, dappled with shade and interrupted on all sides of the picture frame, Pissarro’s composition captures the restless activity of the busy city. His quick brushwork seems to mimic the action it depicts. Notice the wheels of the carriages and buggies, where scoured circles of paint trace motion. With the movement of his brush, Pissarro does not simply paint but reenacts the wheels’ rolling progress. This painting, done more than a quarter century after the first impressionist exhibition, still has the same fresh energy of those early impressionist works. Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=52199

Camille Pissarro (artist) French, 1830 - 1903 Place du Carrousel, Paris, 1900 oil on canvas overall: 54.9 x 65.4 cm (21 5/8 x 25 3/4 in.) framed: 79.7 x 89.5 x 10.1 cm (31 3/8 x 35 1/4 x 4 in.) Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection 1970.17.55 Better known for rural subjects, Pissarro came to paint urban scenes only late in his career after eye problems prevented him from working outdoors. He rented rooms that afforded him views into the streets of Rouen, Paris, and other cities. Probably influenced by Monet’s series paintings, he set up a number of easels to work simultaneously on different canvases as light and weather conditions changed. This is one of twenty–eight views he painted of the Tuileries Gardens from a hotel room in the rue de Rivoli. The buildings depicted are part of the Louvre. With this sidelong view, dappled with shade and interrupted on all sides of the picture frame, Pissarro’s composition captures the restless activity of the busy city. His quick brushwork seems to mimic the action it depicts. Notice the wheels of the carriages and buggies, where scoured circles of paint trace motion. With the movement of his brush, Pissarro does not simply paint but reenacts the wheels’ rolling progress. This painting, done more than a quarter century after the first impressionist exhibition, still has the same fresh energy of those early impressionist works. Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=52199

Camille Pissarro (artist) French, 1830 - 1903 The Bather, 1895 oil on canvas overall: 35.3 x 27.3 cm (13 7/8 x 10 3/4 in.) framed: 53.7 x 45.1 x 5.7 cm (21 1/8 x 17 3/4 x 2 1/4 in.) Chester Dale Collection 1963.10.54 Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=46529

Camille Pissarro (artist) French, 1830 - 1903 The Bather, 1895 oil on canvas overall: 35.3 x 27.3 cm (13 7/8 x 10 3/4 in.) framed: 53.7 x 45.1 x 5.7 cm (21 1/8 x 17 3/4 x 2 1/4 in.) Chester Dale Collection 1963.10.54 Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=46529

Claude Monet (artist) French, 1840 - 1926 Sainte-Adresse, 1867 oil on canvas overall: 57 x 80 cm (22 7/16 x 31 1/2 in.) framed: 76.2 x 99.7 x 6.9 cm (30 x 39 1/4 x 2 11/16 in.) Gift of Catherine Gamble Curran and Family, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art 1990.59.1 In June 1867, at the urging of his father, Claude Monet went to Sainte- Adresse, a popular resort town on the Normandy coast, for an extended stay in the home of his aunt, Sophie Lecadre. His visit lasted until near winter and proved to be a period of intense activity. "I have my work cut out for me," Monet wrote to his friend and fellow painter Frédéric Bazille shortly after his arrival. "I have about 20 canvases well underway, some stunning seascapes and some figures and gardens, everything in short." Sainte-Adresse is one of the most striking paintings within this important group of works. In contrast to the majority of seascapes Monet produced at this time, which depict the beach facing southward in the direction of Le Havre, Sainte-Adresse shows the beach facing north toward the cape of La Cape of La Hève at Low Tide (Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth), which he exhibited in the Salon of 1865. In Sainte-Adresse, painted two years later, the view has been altered in small yet significant ways: the horizon line has been raised and the cape centered within the composition, giving greater prominence to the beach in the foreground. In addition, the inclusion of boats and the houses in the middle ground make the site look less desolate than in the earlier depictions. The accompanying figures, rather than being dwarfed by the vastness of the surrounding landscape, reside comfortably within it. In stylistic terms, this painting is consistent with the seascapes Monet produced during the summer and fall of 1867. There is a new awareness of the particular atmospheric character of the scene, reflecting Monet's growing acuity as a landscape painter. The overcast day is skillfully captured through the grayish tonalities of the sky, the water, and the beach. A stronger emphasis is also given to the paint surface, with rapidly applied touches of color that help characterize rather than carefully delineate the scene. The relative simplicity of the composition, the elimination of detail, and the fresh, varied quality of the brushwork all suggest that this painting may have been executed at least in part on site rather than entirely in the studio. The most salient characteristic, however, is the treatment of the subject itself. Although Sainte-Adresse was a resort suburb, located four kilometers northwest of Le Havre, Monet makes no allusion in the painting to the influx of tourists who visited the Normandy coast every year. As in The Beach at Sainte-Adresse (Art Institute of Chicago), also painted in 1867, in this painting the gray skies, the shoreline studded with small fishing boats, and the presence of the fishermen standing on the beach all seem to suggest the fall months, after the departure of the tourists. These two paintings of quotidian scenes contrast noticeably with Regatta at Sainte-Adresse (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), in which well-dressed tourists sit on the beach, watching the white sails of pleasure craft in the harbor on a clear summer day. With the generous bequest of Catherine Gamble Curran, Sainte-Adresse has now been fully acquired by the National Gallery of Art. In this painting, Monet chose to celebrate a world rarely seen by tourists, but with which the artist had a long and intimate acquaintance. Joining careful observation of place and season with the perceptive portrayal of everyday life on the Normandy coast, Monet created a truly modern masterpiece. Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=71550

Claude Monet (artist) French, 1840 - 1926 Argenteuil, c. 1872 oil on canvas overall: 50.4 x 65.2 cm (19 13/16 x 25 11/16 in.) framed: 70.8 x 85.7 x 8.3 cm (27 7/8 x 33 3/4 x 3 1/4 in.) Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection 1970.17.42 Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=52186

Claude Monet (artist) French, 1840 - 1926 The Bridge at Argenteuil, 1874 oil on canvas overall: 60 x 79.7 cm (23 5/8 x 31 3/8 in.) framed: 78.1 x 97.8 x 4.7 cm (30 3/4 x 38 1/2 x 1 7/8 in.) Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon 1983.1.24 From a distance of ten feet or so, Monet's brushstrokes blend to yield a convincing view of the Seine and the pleasure boats that drew tourists to Argenteuil. Up close, however, each dab of paint is distinct, and the scene dissolves into a mosaic of paint—brilliant, unblended tones of blue, red, green, yellow. In the water, quick, fluid skips of the brush mimic the lapping surface. In the trees, thicker paint is applied with denser, stubbier strokes. The figure in the sailboat is only a ghostly wash of dusty blue, the women rowing nearby are indicated by mere shorthand. In the early years of impressionism, Monet, Renoir, and others strove to capture the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere on the landscape and to transcribe directly and quickly their sensory experience of it. Monet advised the American artist Lilla Cabot Perry, "When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before you, a tree, a house, a field or whatever. Merely think here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape, until it gives your own naïve impression of the scene before you." Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=61374

Claude Monet (artist) French, 1840 - 1926 Banks of the Seine, Vétheuil, 1880 oil on canvas overall: 73.4 x 100.5 cm (28 7/8 x 39 9/16 in.) framed: 100.3 x 127.6 x 9.5 cm (39 1/2 x 50 1/4 x 3 3/4 in.) Chester Dale Collection 1963.10.177 During the early years of impressionism, one of Monet's primary intentions was to capture fleeting effects of light and atmosphere. Working quickly, out of doors, he sought to transcribe with directness and spontaneity his sensory experience of the landscape before him. But by about 1880, when this picture was painted, Monet was beginning to show more interest in the painted surface itself. This interest would lead him to explore the same subject repeatedly in his series paintings, seeking to unify individual canvases and harmonize each series as a whole. Here, brushstrokes vary in response to the different textures they portray—contrast, for example, the quick horizontal skips in the river's gently rippled surface with the rounder, swirling forms of the sky. But it is the foreground, where thick grasses and flowers are painted with crowded, exuberant strokes, that draws our attention. These heavy layers of paint were probably not completed on the spot, but instead carefully reworked in the studio. The strokes assume an importance in their own right, becoming decorative as well as descriptive. Monet, however, never strays far from the natural forms that were his inspiration. Text from: www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=46652