Study for the Venetian Blind
Artist
Edmund Charles Tarbell
(American, 1862–1938)
Date1898
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionscanvas: 61 × 64.8 cm (24 × 25 1/2 in.)
framed (no buildout): 77.5 × 80 × 3.8 cm (30 1/2 × 31 1/2 × 1 1/2 in.)
framed (no buildout): 77.5 × 80 × 3.8 cm (30 1/2 × 31 1/2 × 1 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineEliza S. Paine Fund
Terms
Object number1996.75
Label TextTarbell stunned conservative audiences with his bold illustration of a partially nude model lounging in an ornate interior. The Venetian Blind emphasizes the particular use of reflective light, seen diffusing through the window and illuminating the model, who shields her face from its brightness. By incorporating the traditional nude figure found in European art with evocative effects of natural light, Tarbell earned critical acclaim for his modern work, which won a bronze medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900.ProvenanceDescended through the artist's family via Lydia Souther Hatch until Souther Barnes (1996); purchased via Skinner's Auction by Worcester Art Museum, 1996 (lot. #160)On View
Not on view
