Nettie Reading

Maker Theodore Robinson (American, 1852 - 1896)

Collections

American Paintings Selections

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca. 1894

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions18 x 22 in. (45.7 x 55.9 cm.) frame: 27 3/4 × 31 1/2 × 3 1/2 in. (70.5 × 80 × 8.9 cm.)

Signedl.r.: Th. Robinson

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of the Virginia Steele Scott Foundation

Status

On view

Label TextAfter meeting Claude Monet in 1888, Theodore Robinson began using the French Impressionist's methods: applying small brushstrokes of unmixed color to build the illusion of form. The bright "flowers" in the background are simply tiny spots of pure color, and dabs of white paint convey the sun's dappling the tree branches and the woman reading. Through his subtle use of greens, Robinson captured the effect of subdued sunlight. This intimate scene is most likely set near the seashore in Cos Cob, Connecticut, where Robinson spent the summer of 1894.

Robinson's subject-a woman enjoying a leisure activity-is typical of his work and that of the French Impressionists. Unlike his European colleagues, however, Robinson composed his paintings with a strong sense of structure, here created by the tree branches that diagonally bisect the painting.

Object number83.8.41