Surprise
1865
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1865
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Surprise is a 1865 by Nicolas-François Chifflart, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman in a dark dress clutches her chest, eyes wide, as a shadowy figure looms behind her. The scene feels like a sudden scare in a quiet room. Chifflart drew this right on a copper plate, treating it like a quick sketch. The lines are loose and urgent, as if he caught the moment before it vanished. Prints like this were small, meant for one person to hold and study. Look up *sfumato*—the way soft shadows blur edges, just like the ghostly figure here.
