The White Rose (Portrait of Miss Jessup) - Pastel on paper mounted on canvas (c. 1886) by William Merritt Chase - American, 1849 - 1916 (Collection Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Miss Margaret Mallory)
The White Rose (Detail)
Josephine Jessup was a student of William Merritt Chase.
What makes this work remarkable, considering its size, is that it has been executed in pastel. This portrait is life-size and I cannot recall seeing another example of this type of standing figures done in pastel in this way. When I first saw it from afar, I assumed it was an oil painting. It’s only when I came closer that I realised it was done in soft pastel.
The use of pastel gives a freedom of stroke very much in the spirit of Impressionism. This is also a great medium to create transparencies and luminous highlights. The palette used is quite narrow and classical rather than the exuberant colours Degas used for his pastel works.
No comments:
Post a Comment