Joan of Arc
Jules Bastien-Lepage
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The Story
Shown at the 1880 Impressionist exhibition, On a Balcony depicts a woman in a private garden surrounded by flowers rendered in energetic brushstrokes of red, blue, yellow, and pink. Mary Cassatt focused on the activities of middle- and upper-class women in society—from public outings like the theater to domestic settings such as this one. Here, the blue rail of the balcony, visible near the top of the painting, defines the enclosed space of a garden, and the sitter’s morning dress further indicates the intimacy of the location.
Cassatt signaled the modernity of her subject through the woman’s choice of reading material: she peruses a newspaper rather than a novel, demonstrating that even at home, Cassatt’s subjects are connected to the contemporary world.
Executed in Oil on canvas, measuring 85.2 × 65.5 cm (33 9/16 × 25 13/16 in.), the surface rewards close looking. Mary Cassatt builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward.
Look closely and the painting opens up. Objects you might pass over — a folded letter, a half-drawn curtain, the angle of a glance — were placed to be read. Even the everyday is loaded: a basin, a candle, a worn shoe become small monuments to a vanished daily world.
Today the painting is held by Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, where it remains a touchstone for understanding Mary Cassatt's contribution to Western art. It has been studied, copied, restored, and argued over for centuries — proof that great paintings keep generating new readings long after their creators have gone.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
