La Neige

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La Neige

Artist Alfred Stevens (Belgian, 1823-1906)

Place of OriginParis, France

Datemid 1880s

Dimensions24 × 19 1/2 in. (61 × 49.5 cm)

Mediumoil on panel

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. James G. Ravin

Object number

2017.42

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 33

DescriptionClad in a chic, brown velvet wardrobe, her plumed hat positioned on the table by her side, the woman is silhouetted before the gold background and floral motif seen on an Oriental folded screen. Her attention is occupied by the falling snow and birds visible out the window of the room. The image is a reverie of reverie.

Label TextSpending the majority of his professional life in Paris, Belgian artist Alfred Stevens was familiar with his younger contemporaries, the Impressionists. These artists included Édouard Manet, Stevens’ closest artist acquaintance, as well as Edgar Degas and Berthe Morisot. Stevens enjoyed popularity with both European and American collectors. This painting was in the collection of the James Prendergast Library, Jamestown, New York from 1891 to 2017. A chronicler of the Belle Époque, Stevens predominantly was a painter of fashionable women, usually a single figure, within elegantly furnished interior spaces, as is the case with La Neige (The Snow). Clad in a chic, brown velvet dress, her plumed hat positioned on the table beside her, the woman is silhouetted before the gold background and floral motif of a Chinese-style lacquer folded screen. Her attention is occupied by the falling snow and the birds on the barren tree visible outside the window. The image is a reverie about reverie.Published References"Art Galleries and Societies,"American Art Annual, Boston, 1900-1901, vol. III, p. 114.

Descriptive Catalogue of the Art Gallery of the James Prendergast Library Association, Jamestown, 1906, no. 19 (as Winter).

Katherine E. Manthorne, The Mirror Up to Nature: A Catalogue of 19th and 20th Century Paintings in the Collection of The James Prendergast Library Association, Jamestown, New York, 1982, p. 47 (as Winter).