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The image shows a woman depicted in profile, focusing on her upper body as she reclines on an armchair with an elegantly patterned fabric. Her position is relaxed, leaning slightly back with her head supported by her hand. She has delicate facial features, with a serene expression. Her hair is neatly combed and falls on her shoulders. The woman wears a dark garment, possibly a dress, contrasting with the lighter background. The background consists of a textured wall with a prominent mantle above a fireplace.
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The image shows a woman depicted in profile, focusing on her upper body as she reclines on an armchair with an elegantly patterned fabric. Her position is relaxed, leaning slightly back with her head supported by her hand. She has delicate facial features, with a serene expression. Her hair is neatly combed and falls on her shoulders. The woman wears a dark garment, possibly a dress, contrasting with the lighter background. The background consists of a textured wall with a prominent mantle above a fireplace.

National Gallery of Art · Print

Before the Fireplace (No. 1)

Mary Cassatt

Date
c. 1882
Medium
softground etching and aquatint on wove paper
Dimensions
plate: 16 x 20.6 cm (6 5/16 x 8 1/8 in.) sheet: 21.6 x 30.3 cm (8 1/2 x 11 15/16 in.)
Classification
Print
Accession number
1949.5.466
Credit line
Rosenwald Collection
Time span
1876 to 1900
Department
CG-W
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • American
  • aquatint
  • softground
  • Seated figure
  • Impressionist
  • interior
  • architecture
  • Chair
  • Fire
  • Female figure
  • Fireplace
Provenance

Harris Whittemore [1864-1927], Naugatuck, CT, 1919; (his sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 17 January 1949, no. 26); (Charles Sessler, Philadelphia, PA); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald, Jenkintown, PA, 1949; gift to the NGA, 1949.

Inscription

lower left in graphite: Ep d'Etat; lower right in graphite: Coll Edg Degas; lower left margin in graphite by unknown hand: Cassatt Before the fireplace; lower right margin in graphite by unknown hand: Degas collection

NGA object ID 36920. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.