On the Balcony - Mary Cassatt

Gift of Henri M. Petiet

"On the Balcony" by Mary Cassatt (c. 1889) Soft ground etching in gray-brown ink on cream laid paper.

Commentary

"On the Balcony" by Mary Cassatt (c. 1889) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. The print-based method rewards close viewing, where line, texture, and contrast do most of the expressive work. Th emes to notice include etching. This piece is held in the source collection's Prints and Drawings collection. Mary Cassatt is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Mary Cassatt American, 1844-1926. The work is cataloged within a United States cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as etching, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Soft ground etching in gray-brown ink on cream laid paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image/plate: 27.8 × 21.7 cm (11 × 8 9/16 in.); Sheet: 37 × 23.7 cm (14 5/8 × 9 3/8 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include etching. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/223860

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data