The Terrace of the Villa Brancas

Description

Bracquemond took a familiar Impressionist motif, a woman at leisure shading herself with a parasol (as seen in works by Whistler and Monet), and used it in the context of the artist at work—his wife Marie sketching her sister in that pose on the terrace of the couple's home in Sévres. Bracquemond's main task, rendering light, shadow, and atmosphere, was a challenging one in this print, which uses line alone rather than areas of tone.