József Rippl-Rónai
Between 1887 and 1900, József Rippl-Rónai lived in France. His painting My Grandmother attracted the attention of the artists' circle around the periodical Revue Blanche, and he was invited to join them. This work also brought him close to the Nabis group, in whose exhibitions he also participated. He called his period of reduced colours coinciding with the 1890s his "black period," writing, "I was greatly preoccupied by the black and grey colours, I was excited to find out what and how one could solve with them in art."
The decorative paintings he made in Paris at that time are characterized by reserved sombre colours, planarity, and powerful contouring. His approach was in part developed under the influence of McNeill Whistler, the American painter then working in Paris, about whom he also wrote in his autobiography. Rippl-Rónai painted several female figures inspired by Whistler's paintings of thin, elongated format and tones of a single colour.
In today's Woman with a Birdcage, decorative, wavy Art Nouveau lines envelope the ethereal female figure dressed in black. The pale planar profile of the woman, and her hand holding the cage, create excitingly radiant counterpoints to the dark background. Similarly to his other pictures of single figures, there is little reference to the setting; the interior is simply indicated by a finely drawn settee with an arched back and the dim outlines of a chair.
See you tomorrow! :)