Mary Cassatt at the Louvre: The Etruscan Gallery

Mary Cassatt at the Louvre: The Etruscan Gallery, executed by Edgar Degas French, 1834-1917 between 1879 and 1880, is a masterful exploration of the artist's dedication to printmaking. This complex print, created on delicate cream Japanese paper, utilizes a variety of specialized techniques, including soft ground etching, drypoint, aquatint, and standard etching. The layered application of these methods lends a profound depth and rich textural variation to the composition, distinguishing it from simple linear works.

The subject captures Degas’s colleague and fellow Impressionist, Mary Cassatt, viewing objects in the Etruscan Gallery of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. The piece is characteristic of Degas’s ongoing interest in portraying figures engaged in private, reflective activity within public, institutional settings. Cassatt is shown leaning on an umbrella, attentively studying a display case of ancient artifacts. The environment—a quiet corner of the museum—contrasts subtly with the typical bustling scenes of Parisian life that the artist often depicted. This rendering offers a rare, intimate glimpse into the artistic companionship between Degas and Cassatt, two major figures of the late 19th-century French avant-garde.

The combination of different media highlights Degas’s experimental approach to the prints classification, treating the plate as a field for constant revision and tonal development. The detailed hatching of the drypoint contrasts sharply with the broader, atmospheric washes achieved through the aquatint process. This exceptional impression of Mary Cassatt at the Louvre: The Etruscan Gallery is housed within the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, serving as a vital reference for the technical mastery of Degas (1834-1917) in graphic arts.