The artwork titled “Margot in White” is a portrait created by the artist Mary Cassatt in 1902. This piece was done using pastel, a medium often favored by Cassatt, and is associated with the Impressionist movement, of which she was a notable member. The genre of this work is a portrait, and it is presently held in a private collection.
The artwork portrays a young girl, Margot, dressed predominantly in white. Margot is captured in a three-quarter frontal viewpoint, gazing slightly off to the side, which lends a contemplative or wistful air to her presence. Her attire, composed of soft pastel hues, accentuates the youthfulness and innocence typically associated with her age. The textures and colors utilized are rendered with the loose, expressive brushstrokes characteristic of the Impressionist style, aiming to capture the light and its varying effects rather than to delineate precise details. Cassatt’s work often explores themes of children and motherhood, and in this portrait, the tender and serene disposition of the subject is palpable. The setting around Margot is somewhat abstract, allowing the observer to focus more on the mood and the character of the young girl, rather than the specificity of her surroundings.