Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2016.

The Window

Artist Frederick Carl Frieseke (American, 1874 - 1939)

Dateca. 1915

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions40 x 40 in. (101.6 x 101.6 cm)
Overall, Frame: 49 3/4 × 49 3/4 × 2 5/8 in. (126.4 × 126.4 × 6.7 cm)

ClassificationsAmerican art

Credit LineBequest of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number89.61

Terms

Woman
Interior
White
Green
Yellow
Pink
Blue
Red
Purple
Black
Decorative
Impressionism
Giverny, France

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting of a woman at her vanity table in front of an open window. The window opens to a brightly lit courtyard filled with greenery. There are geraniums in her window box and as the light filters through the trees it reflects green to the interior scene. Her face is blushed with pink, presumably light reflected from the pink blouse she is wearing, in contrast to the greenish hue over the rest of the painting.

Label TextFrederick Carl Frieseke American, 1874–1939 The Window, ca. 1915 Oil on canvas Rosy reflections from her pink gown brighten the face of Sarah, the wife and favorite model of painter Frederick Frieseke. Beyond the cool shadows of the dressing room, a window reveals the sun-drenched garden of their cottage in Giverny, France. Frieseke and other Americans painted in this countryside village to follow in the footsteps of Claude Monet, who established a studio and garden there. Working abroad allowed them to paint nudes and private domestic scenes, such as this one—subjects deemed improper by many American critics at that time. Bequest of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 89.61