Blue Girl Reading

August Macke (1887–1914): Blue Girl Reading - Macke was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider)… Macke developed a “flat” yet ornamental style, but always remained true to objective representation. He was deeply influenced by contemporary French painting, particularly by Delaunay’s very bright colour used in conjunction with near-Cubist ideas…

Au Théâtre

Jean-Louis Forain (French, 1852-1931): Au Théâtre, 1882 (Watercolor, pen and brown ink and black traces of graphite on paper) Here Forain captures a moment of contemporary life: a way of being, exchanging looks, and leaning slightly to catch what another person is saying about the show they have both just seen… To give the scene immediacy for the spectator, the four characters in the foreground are shown from the waist up and a female figure in the foreground is seen from behind. Forain owes his taste for this almost photographic framing to Degas…

Dancers Resting

Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917): Dancers Resting c.1881-85 (Pastel on paper mounted on cardboard, - MFA, Boston) Here, the artist took his drawing of a seated dancer (at right) and added pieces of paper to create a larger composition, incorporating the figure of another dancer in a red shawl and the large expanse of floor in front of her. Degas left his rotations - perhaps measurements of the added strips - visible on the painting…