A countryside picnic in the sun

In 1882, Marie Bracquemond published drawings corresponding to each month of the year in "La Vie moderne," an illustrated weekly founded by George Charpentier, a champion of the Impressionists. Although, it does not appear to have been reproduced, this drawing of a late summer scene relates closely to that series in its style and format. Against a striking sky patterned with clouds, a couple lounges in the long grass of a gently sloping hillside. In contre-jour, the woman gazes outward as she pulls a bottle of wine from her picnic basket and a butterfly flits past her proper left shoulder. This scene of plein-air leisure with its exploration of lighting effects and evocation of the fleeting moment embodies many of the qualities associated with the Impressionist aesthetic. Marie exhibited with the Impressionists in 1879, 1880, and 1886, and was one of only three women to do so.