Gonzalès, Eva (1849-1883)
La modiste (The Milliner)
c.1877
Pastel on canvas, 45 x 37 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
Eva Gonzalès’s subjects were most often women engaged in activities such as reading, knitting, or filling a vase with flowers. This pastel of a milliner, or hat-maker, shows the figure handling the trimmings that will eventually be used to decorate a hat. Millinery was a popular subject for the Impressionists, given their interest in fashion and scenes from modern life. (AIC)