| Intimate
in subject and scale, the pictures represented in this book
of postcards are the skilled accomplishments of Monet, Degas,
Pissarro, Morisot, Renoir, Seurat, and other major impressionists.
A small Manet still life is notable for the assured freedom
of its brushwork; Vuillard painted his own paint box; Toulouse-Lautrec
captured the likeness of his patient dog sitting in a sun-splashed
garden; Bonnard, a picnic table under a shady tree (front
cover).
The works
reproduced here are of works drawn primarily from the bequest
of Ailsa Mellon Bruce to the National Gallery of Art, supplemented
by works given by her brother, Paul Mellon, and other generous
donors. Modest in size but exceptional in their beauty and
subtlety, these paintings afford a glimpse into the brilliant
innovation and powerful immediacy of impressionism. 17.5cm
x 12cm |
