Floor plan

East wing: The Nineteenth CenturyImpressionism

Impressionism

By the Seashore, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1883
Painting of a pond seen up close spotted with thickly painted pink and white water lilies and a shadow across the top third of the picture.
This painting shows a young woman's upper body from the torso up. She is seated and facing the right, with her face seen in profile and one arm bent in front of her, seeming to rest on a brown table or surface. She has pale skin, round, rosy cheeks, a small nose, and pink lips that are slightly parted. Her brown hair is styled into a smooth, glossy bun at the nape of her neck. She is wearing a white garment with thin straps over her shoulders. The background features a yellow section on the bottom half, and on the top half is a colorful, abstract pattern with large, soft, swirling forms in shades of orange and red on a blue-gray background with hints of green.
A work made of oil on canvas.
A row of spire-like structures of different heights is silhouetted in azure blue against a soft pink, yellow, peach, and lavender-purple sunset and reflected in a rippling river in this nearly square landscape painting. Along the horizon, the buildings stretch from our right, almost fully across the canvas, and are painted with vertical brushstrokes in cool shades of blue. The sky behind the towers seems hazy with intermingling, pastel-colored clouds. The buildings are reflected in the river, which fills the bottom third of the painting. The surface of the water is painted with short, horizontal brushstrokes in azure blue for the buildings, and apricot, rose, and marigold orange for the sky’s reflection. A streak and smudge of olive-green paint on the water represents a person in a boat near the center of the painting. The artist signed and dated the work in the same olive color at the lower right: “Claude Monet 1903.”
Romaine Lacaux, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1864

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Painters in 1870s Paris who worked quickly, often outdoors, to catch light as it changed.

First room, north wall

  1. By the Seashore, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1883
    By the SeashorePierre-Auguste Renoir, 1883Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Painting of a pond seen up close spotted with thickly painted pink and white water lilies and a shadow across the top third of the picture.
    Water LiliesClaude Monet, 1906Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. This painting shows a young woman's upper body from the torso up. She is seated and facing the right, with her face seen in profile and one arm bent in front of her, seeming to rest on a brown table or surface. She has pale skin, round, rosy cheeks, a small nose, and pink lips that are slightly parted. Her brown hair is styled into a smooth, glossy bun at the nape of her neck. She is wearing a white garment with thin straps over her shoulders. The background features a yellow section on the bottom half, and on the top half is a colorful, abstract pattern with large, soft, swirling forms in shades of orange and red on a blue-gray background with hints of green.
    Head of a Young GirlPierre-Auguste Renoir, c. 1890Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

First room, south wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    The Place du Havre, ParisCamille Pissarro, 1893Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A row of spire-like structures of different heights is silhouetted in azure blue against a soft pink, yellow, peach, and lavender-purple sunset and reflected in a rippling river in this nearly square landscape painting. Along the horizon, the buildings stretch from our right, almost fully across the canvas, and are painted with vertical brushstrokes in cool shades of blue. The sky behind the towers seems hazy with intermingling, pastel-colored clouds. The buildings are reflected in the river, which fills the bottom third of the painting. The surface of the water is painted with short, horizontal brushstrokes in azure blue for the buildings, and apricot, rose, and marigold orange for the sky’s reflection. A streak and smudge of olive-green paint on the water represents a person in a boat near the center of the painting. The artist signed and dated the work in the same olive color at the lower right: “Claude Monet 1903.”
    The Houses of Parliament, SunsetClaude Monet, 1903Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. Romaine Lacaux, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1864
    Romaine LacauxPierre-Auguste Renoir, 1864Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Second room, south wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Alfred SisleyPierre-Auguste Renoir, 1876Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Édouard Manet, Seated, Holding His Hat, by Edgar Degas, ca. 1868
    Édouard Manet, Seated, Holding His HatEdgar Degas, ca. 1868Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Shown from the chest up, a pale-skinned man in a suit sits in a high-backed chair, looking slightly to our right in this vertical portrait painting. His eyes and head are both turned slightly to our right, with only one ear visible on our left. His shoulder on our right and the right side of the chair are slightly cut off by the edge of the painting. He has a straight nose, high cheekbones, and pale pink closed lips. His eyes are dark, with small shadows beneath them. His black, wavy hair is parted on our right and cropped short on the sides of his head, with thick, defined waves on top. He has a light brown mustache that extends past the edge of his lips and flips up at the ends and a small, thin goatee. Beneath his chin, the collar of his white shirt is visible. The man wears an open suit jacket with a black vest, which folds slightly just below his chest, revealing a glimpse of his white shirt beneath it in a gap between buttons. The chair is only visible from the man’s shoulders up and ends at his forehead. It has a curved, round top back with a red frame and dark green upholstery. The part of the red frame on the right side of the painting has white and yellow highlights. The background is dark gray with visible brushstrokes. The artist signed and dated the painting at the top left, “F. Bazille. 1866.”
    Edouard BlauFrédéric Bazille, probably 1869Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second room, north wall

  1. The Daughters of Catulle Mendès, Huguette (1871–1964), Claudine (1876–1937), and Helyonne (1879–1955), by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1888
    The Daughters of Catulle Mendès, Huguette (1871–1964), Claudine (1876–1937), and Helyonne (1879–1955)Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1888Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Sheet of Studies and Sketches, by Edgar Degas, 1858
    Sheet of Studies and SketchesEdgar Degas, 1858Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. In the Omnibus, by Mary Cassatt, 1890–91
    In the OmnibusMary Cassatt, 1890–91Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Third room, north wall

  1. After the Bath, by Mary Cassatt, 1901
    After the BathMary Cassatt, 1901Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Two Young Girls at the Piano, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1892
    Two Young Girls at the PianoPierre-Auguste Renoir, 1892Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Third room, south wall

  1. Three light-skinned, dark-haired ballerinas, painted in muted tones, wear off-the-shoulder yellow leotards and tutus as they huddle near each other. One adjusts her costume, while one holds her hands clasped above her head. At left is a painted screen with four pairs of feet visible underneath.
    Yellow Dancers (In the Wings)Edgar Degas, 1874–76Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Estérel Village, by Edgar Degas, c. 1890
    Estérel VillageEdgar Degas, c. 1890Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art