![1887, Frederick Childe Hassam, At the Grand Prix [pastel] -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond) | by R.M.Lenox](http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51656496665_979792a001.jpg)
1887, Frederick Childe Hassam, At the Grand Prix [pastel] -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
From the museum label: In this depiction of a famous horse race in the Bois de Boulogne, on the western side of Paris, the American impressionist Hassam emulates his French counterparts' interest in the spectacles of modern life. Two fashionably dressed women standing upright against a backdrop of hazy silhouettes appear much like mannequins, their individual identities overshadowed by concerns of color, light, and atmosphere. Hassam employed a limited and carefully contrived palette: the carriage's midnight black with blue highlights is reiterated in the costume of the fair-haired figure; inversely, the light yellow and green of the floral bouquets is repeated in the dress of the dark-haired woman. The controlled use of color extends to the background, where emphasis is on atmospheric effects.
1887, Frederick Childe Hassam, At the Grand Prix [pastel] -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
From the museum label: In this depiction of a famous horse race in the Bois de Boulogne, on the western side of Paris, the American impressionist Hassam emulates his French counterparts' interest in the spectacles of modern life. Two fashionably dressed women standing upright against a backdrop of hazy silhouettes appear much like mannequins, their individual identities overshadowed by concerns of color, light, and atmosphere. Hassam employed a limited and carefully contrived palette: the carriage's midnight black with blue highlights is reiterated in the costume of the fair-haired figure; inversely, the light yellow and green of the floral bouquets is repeated in the dress of the dark-haired woman. The controlled use of color extends to the background, where emphasis is on atmospheric effects.