Venice: Night of the Festival of the Redeemer

Henri-Edmond Cross (Henri-Edmond Delacroix)

1903 · Watercolor over pencil on white wove paper · Robert Lehman Collection

While collaborating and traveling with his friend Paul Signac, Cross experimented with the Neo-Impressionist technique of using strokes of color to modulate form. During a visit to Venice in 1903 Cross achieved greater degree of fluidity and confidence with the watercolor medium. This drawing appears to record his impressions upon seeing a glittering, jewel-like Venice on the night of the annual Festival of the Redeemer, complete with fireworks and artificial lights along the water. The figure, likely a young woman, sits prominently in the foreground yet dissolves into the sinuous lines of the indistinct watery setting. She seems at once lost in thought and immersed in the spectacle of the summer night.

Artist

Henri-Edmond Cross (Henri-Edmond Delacroix)

Date

1903

Medium

Watercolor over pencil on white wove paper

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975