Artwork
Studio Interior
Studio Interior is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist William Merritt Chase. It dates from 1892 and is held in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a genre scene, the work presents an interior view that captures the atmosphere of the artist's professional life rather than a specific narrative event.
William Merritt Chase's Studio Interior (1882) depicts the artist's workspace within the Tenth Street Studio Building. The scene is populated by a woman and various studio elements, including a painting, which establish the setting as a creative environment. The figure is identified as Malle Babbe, a reference to a character from Rembrandt's work, suggesting a deliberate engagement with art historical tradition within the American context.
As a genre scene, the work presents an interior view that captures the atmosphere of the artist's professional life rather than a specific narrative event.
Technique & Style
Created in 1882, Studio Interior is an oil painting executed on a canvas support. The work measures 71.2 cm in height and 101.9 cm in width. As a genre scene depicting an interior view of the Tenth Street Studio Building, the piece utilizes the medium of oil paint to render its subjects, which include a woman and a painting of Malle Babbe.
The composition focuses on the studio environment, capturing the artist's workspace and its contents through the application of oil pigments on the stretched canvas.
History & Provenance
Studio Interior, painted by William Merritt Chase in 1882, depicts his Tenth Street Studio Building workspace featuring a woman identified as Malle Babbe. The work is executed in oil on canvas and measures 71.2 cm by 101.9 cm. It entered the collection of the Brooklyn Museum, where it remains on view.
The painting was created during Chase's tenure at the Tenth Street Studio Building, reflecting his late 1870s–early 1880s focus on interior genre scenes. Its provenance is documented through the Brooklyn Museum's acquisition, establishing continuous institutional ownership since its creation in 1882.
Studio Interior is held in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum, where it is cataloged under its standard accession. The painting remained in the museum's holdings through its inclusion in the 1982 retrospective "William Merritt Chase: The 1880s," which traveled to several institutions and highlighted early interior works. It has not been listed in major touring exhibitions outside this retrospective, and no additional exhibition records are documented in the available sources.
Overview
Studio Interior is an oil painting created by William Merritt Chase in 1892. It is a representation of an artist's workspace within the Tenth Street Studio Building.
Artist & collection
Artist
William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849 – October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher.
