Artwork
Bretonnes sur le quai
Bretonnes sur le quai is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Charles Cottet. It dates from 1894 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right in graphite: 32 / C. Cottet
About this work
Overview
Bretonnes sur le quai is a 1894 lithograph on beige wove paper by Charles Cottet, a French artist associated with the Bande noire group.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts four women in traditional Breton dress standing together on a dock or street, conveying a sense of everyday life in rural Brittany through their simple, dark attire and the rough, unrefined background.
Technique & Style
Cottet employed loose, expressive lines to capture the movement and atmosphere of the scene, characteristic of late 19th-century printmaking techniques that prioritized immediacy over precise detail.
History & Provenance
The artwork is part of the National Gallery of Art's collection in Washington, created during a period when Cottet was known for his somber, evocative representations of Breton landscapes and seascapes.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Charles Cottet (French pronunciation:; 12 July 1863 – 20 September 1925) was a French painter, born at Le Puy-en-Velay and died in Paris.
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