A Mandolin Player- A Sketch (Primary Title)
William Merritt Chase, American, 1849 - 1916 (Artist)
This sketch is an expressive demonstration of Chase’s newly adopted impressionist technique wedded to the warmer palette of academic realism. The unidentified sitter strums a bowl-backed mandolin, her fingers barely articulated. Similarly, with wide brush and thick pigment, Chase merely alludes to the details of her dress and setting. Despite this sense of incompleteness, the painting was exhibited at the artist’s one-man show at the Boston Art Club in 1886—to the offense of attending critics. Praised by fellow artists for his innovative approach, Chase became celebrated as a “painter’s painter.” This sketch appeared unframed in a photograph of the artist’s Tenth Street Studio taken by George Collin Cox between 1879 and 1883 (below).
W. M. [William Merritt] Chase’s Studio, West 10th St. N.Y., ca. 1880, George Collins Cox, photographer. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
