The artwork titled “Head of Simone in a Large Plumes Hat, Looking Left” was created by artist Mary Cassatt in 1903. This piece is crafted using pastel on paper and belongs to the Impressionist movement, a genre that emphasizes light, color, and the depiction of modern life. The dimensions of this portrait are moderately small, measuring 46.99 cm by 43.18 cm. Currently, the artwork is held within a private collection and it represents the portrait genre, in line with the artist’s focus on capturing the nuances of human expression and individuality.
The artwork itself features a tender and delicately rendered portrait of a child, referred to as Simone, adorned with a large plumed hat. The hat, imbued with vibrant shades of blue, frames the child’s face and contributes to a vivid contrast against the loosely suggested, soft green background. It draws the viewer’s attention to Simone’s face, which is executed with soft, pastellist strokes that highlight the youth and innocence of her features. Her gaze, directed to the left, suggests contemplativeness, echoing the spontaneous capture of a moment characteristic of Impressionist portraiture. The interplay of light and shadow, as well as the use of color, imbue the subject with a sense of liveliness, capturing the essence of the child’s visage and the ethereal nature of this moment in time.
