Summer Evening (Soirée d'été)
1882
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1882
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Summer Evening (Soirée d'été) is a 1882 ink by James Jacques Joseph Tissot, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This etching shows a woman lying back on a wicker chair, looking up and resting her head on one arm. She’s dressed in a loose, light-colored blouse and dark skirt, with her other hand holding a fan. Behind her, a dark, leafy garden stretches out, with a fence and distant buildings barely visible in the dim light. The artist used fine, scratchy lines to create texture—notice how the fabric and leaves look almost three-dimensional. This was a way to show detail without color, since the piece is in black and white. Next, check out etching to see how artists like this one carve into metal plates to make prints.
