Artwork
Young Woman in a Round Hat
Young Woman in a Round Hat is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Édouard Manet. It is held in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work is interpreted as a study of modern femininity that balances social decorum with subtle psychological immediacy.
The painting portrays a young woman seen in profile, wearing a round hat and holding a closed parasol, her attire marked by a blue dress and a gloved hand, suggesting both fashionable elegance and restrained movement. The inclusion of a walking stick, earring, and glove functions as modest symbols of bourgeois respectability in late‑19th‑century French portraiture, while the stark contrast between the figure and a muted background underscores Manet's focus on contemporary urban identity. The work is interpreted as a study of modern femininity that balances social decorum with subtle psychological immediacy.
The composition was created in France around 1878 and entered the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation collection, where it remains on loan to the Princeton University Art Museum and is slated for transfer to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
The painting is part of the Henry and Rose Pearlman Collection, Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey, and is slated for transfer to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California.
Technique & Style
Édouard Manet’s Young Woman in a Round Hat (1878) is executed in oil paint on canvas, adhering to the vertical portrait format measuring 54.6 × 45.1 cm. The technique emphasizes broad, fluid brushwork, characteristic of Manet’s later portraits, with a restrained palette dominated by blues and blacks contrasted against a muted, indistinct background. The handling is loose yet deliberate, particularly in the rendering of the subject’s attire, her blue dress, black round hat with a veil, and gloves, while finer details, such as the earring and walking stick, are suggested with economical strokes.
Stylistically, the work reflects Manet’s engagement with modernity, capturing a fleeting, informal pose through a profile view that lends the figure a sense of immediacy. The composition’s stark tonal contrasts heighten the subject’s presence, a hallmark of Manet’s approach to portraiture during this period. The painting remains in stable condition, with no major restorations reported in available documentation.
History & Provenance
Édouard Manet created the oil-on-canvas portrait Young Woman in a Round Hat in France between 1877 and 1879, with 1878 frequently cited as the specific year of execution. The work depicts a woman in profile wearing a blue dress and a black hat with a veil. Ownership of the painting is held by the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation.
Since 1976, the artwork has been on long-term deposit at the Princeton University Art Museum in New Jersey. The piece is designated to eventually enter the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California.
Overview
Édouard Manet’s oil portrait titled Young Woman in a Round Hat dates from 1890 and is part of the collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The work presents a single female sitter rendered in a compact composition that emphasizes her attire and accessories.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Édouard Manet was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.
