c. 1879

At the Theater (Au théâtre)

American, 1844 - 1926

In this pastel drawing Cassatt enlivened the broad blended passages with brilliant touches of fresh pastel and bold streaks of metallic paint, frequently using moisture to create a multilayered surface. Through the years Cassatt produced pastels on a variety of supports, including paper, paper adhered to canvas, and canvas alone. For this work she used a canvas coated with a ground embedded with pumice or coarse fibers to create a rough surface that would hold the powdery pastels more securely.