Hassam, Childe (1859-1935)
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris
1888
Oil on canvas, 44.5 x 54.6 cm
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
Two plumes of white steam rise from an unseen boat on the river Seine, signs of modern life juxtaposed with the Gothic towers of the thirteenth-century cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. The artist observed the scene from the Left Bank of the river, punctuating the gray tones of the overcast day with flashes of bold color. The red jacket worn by a child walking along the river, bright white clouds reflected in puddles of water gathered in the gutter, and daubs of green for the gardens in front of the western facade of the cathedral guide a viewer through the mundane and monumental details of the scene.
The Massachusetts artist Childe Hassam painted this canvas during an extended period working and studying in France from 1886 to 1889. An accomplished academic painter when he arrived in Paris, he spent his time there absorbing a modern impressionist style for works like this. (DIA)
See also:
• Notre-Dame de Paris | Paris (France)