On a Balcony

Artwork Details

About This Artwork

An elegant young woman in fashionable dress holds a small dog while seated on a balcony overlooking a garden. Cassatt's sophisticated composition balances the decorative iron railing's geometric pattern against lush foliage rendered in loose, impressionistic brushstrokes. The painting demonstrates her mastery of plein-air technique and modern subject matter. Created during her most intensive period working alongside Degas, this work shows her developing a personal synthesis of Impressionist light effects with firm structural design and psychological presence.