A little girl sprawls in a vast blue armchair, arms behind her head, skirt rumpled, the picture of boredom; on the next chair a small dog is asleep. Breaking with the prim, well-behaved child portraits of her day, Cassatt painted a real child — one who can be bored and restless.
Key facts
- Artist
- Mary Cassatt1844–1926 · American
- Date
- 1878
- Period
- Impressionism1860–1890
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 89.5 × 129.8 cm
- Location
- National Gallery of Art Washington, D.C., United States
Actual size
Compared with an adult 170 cm tall
Palette
#38787E#12585F#49544C#6B989A#C8CEC6Background
Settled in Paris, Cassatt came to know Degas, and the two admired each other's work. The girl was the daughter of friends of Degas; the Brussels griffon dog was Cassatt's own.
Years later Cassatt wrote to the dealer Ambroise Vollard that after she had painted the child in the armchair, Degas thought it good, advised her on the background, and even worked on the background himself.
She submitted it to the American section of the 1878 Paris World's Fair, but the jury rejected it, to her great anger. The next year it was probably shown at the fourth Impressionist exhibition. It later belonged to Paul and Bunny Mellon, who gave it to the National Gallery of Art in Washington in 1983.
Technique & composition
The viewpoint is low, as if at a child's height. is cut off by the frame, are set at an angle, and a broad expanse of opens up between them. The asymmetrical, cropped composition shows the influence of Degas and Japanese prints.
The blue upholstery is painted with free, sweeping strokes, its pattern dissolving into near-abstract patches of colour. white dress and leap out from the sea of blue as the focus of the picture.
Details
Symbolism
Childhood as it is
Nineteenth-century child portraits usually showed children as neat little adults. Cassatt lets the girl slump with , anything but ladylike. Her respect for the child as she really is was bold for its time.
Child and dog
echoes the girl: both are curled into armchairs, one asleep, the other bored stiff. The gentle humour fills the picture with life.
Stories
- Did you know?
Cassatt later remarked that the American jury consisted of three men, “one of whom was a pharmacist” — implying that they knew nothing about art.
- Did you know?
Infrared study at the National Gallery of Art confirmed Degas's contribution, probably above all . reads “Mary Cassatt”.
Legacy
Little Girl in a Blue Armchair is Cassatt's early masterpiece and one of the most inventive Impressionist images of childhood. It foreshadows her later work on mothers and children and records a rare artistic collaboration with Degas.
