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    We look slightly down onto a woman dressed in golden yellows, sitting in a pale green chair, with a nude child sitting in her lap as they both gaze into a mirror in this vertical portrait painting. Both the people have pale, peachy skin. The chair is angled to our left so the woman’s knees and child cant down toward the lower left corner of the composition, and the woman leans onto the arm closer to us. The chair is painted mint green and the rose-pink upholstery is visible on the seat and a corner behind the woman’s shoulder. To our right, the woman’s vibrant, copper-colored hair is pulled loosely to the back of her head. She has a rounded nose, flushed cheeks, and her full, coral-pink lips are closed. Her long dress has a low, U-shaped neckline. The fabric shimmers from pale, cucumber green to light sunshine yellow. The sleeves of the dress split over the shoulder and a second long, goldenrod-yellow sleeve falls from her elbow off the bottom edge of the canvas. An oversized sunflower, larger than the woman’s face, is affixed to her dress near her left shoulder, closer to us. She looks with dark eyes down toward the small, gold-rimmed mirror she holds in her right hand, farther from us. The child also holds the handle of the mirror with both hands, and in the reflection, the child looks back at us with dark eyes, a button nose, and pink lips. The child’s hair in the reflection is the same copper color as the woman’s, but the child on her lap has blond, shoulder-length hair. The woman rests one hand on the child’s left shoulder, closer to us. The child has a rounded belly and smooth, rosy limbs. The woman and child are reflected in a second mirror hanging on the wall alongside them, opposite us. Their reflections are very loosely painted. The wall behind the pair is sage green across the top and it shifts to fawn brown across the bottom. Brushstrokes are visible throughout, especially in the woman’s dress and hair, and are more blended in the bodies and faces. The artist signed the painting in the lower right corner, “Mary Cassatt.”

    Featured exhibition:

    Mary Cassatt: An American in Paris

    Now on view
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Open today 10:00–5:00

National Gallery of Art
  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Shops
    • Tours, Guides, and Maps

    Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    Celebrating American art and artists

    Join us as we explore 250 years of American creativity from across the nation.

    Learn more
  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events
    We look slightly down onto a woman dressed in golden yellows, sitting in a pale green chair, with a nude child sitting in her lap as they both gaze into a mirror in this vertical portrait painting. Both the people have pale, peachy skin. The chair is angled to our left so the woman’s knees and child cant down toward the lower left corner of the composition, and the woman leans onto the arm closer to us. The chair is painted mint green and the rose-pink upholstery is visible on the seat and a corner behind the woman’s shoulder. To our right, the woman’s vibrant, copper-colored hair is pulled loosely to the back of her head. She has a rounded nose, flushed cheeks, and her full, coral-pink lips are closed. Her long dress has a low, U-shaped neckline. The fabric shimmers from pale, cucumber green to light sunshine yellow. The sleeves of the dress split over the shoulder and a second long, goldenrod-yellow sleeve falls from her elbow off the bottom edge of the canvas. An oversized sunflower, larger than the woman’s face, is affixed to her dress near her left shoulder, closer to us. She looks with dark eyes down toward the small, gold-rimmed mirror she holds in her right hand, farther from us. The child also holds the handle of the mirror with both hands, and in the reflection, the child looks back at us with dark eyes, a button nose, and pink lips. The child’s hair in the reflection is the same copper color as the woman’s, but the child on her lap has blond, shoulder-length hair. The woman rests one hand on the child’s left shoulder, closer to us. The child has a rounded belly and smooth, rosy limbs. The woman and child are reflected in a second mirror hanging on the wall alongside them, opposite us. Their reflections are very loosely painted. The wall behind the pair is sage green across the top and it shifts to fawn brown across the bottom. Brushstrokes are visible throughout, especially in the woman’s dress and hair, and are more blended in the bodies and faces. The artist signed the painting in the lower right corner, “Mary Cassatt.”

    Featured exhibition:

    Mary Cassatt: An American in Paris

    Now on view
  • Art & Artists

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    Play Artle

    Test your knowledge with a new puzzle every day.

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  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
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    • Tours, Guides, and Maps

    Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    Celebrating American art and artists

    Join us as we explore 250 years of American creativity from across the nation.

    Learn more
  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events
    We look slightly down onto a woman dressed in golden yellows, sitting in a pale green chair, with a nude child sitting in her lap as they both gaze into a mirror in this vertical portrait painting. Both the people have pale, peachy skin. The chair is angled to our left so the woman’s knees and child cant down toward the lower left corner of the composition, and the woman leans onto the arm closer to us. The chair is painted mint green and the rose-pink upholstery is visible on the seat and a corner behind the woman’s shoulder. To our right, the woman’s vibrant, copper-colored hair is pulled loosely to the back of her head. She has a rounded nose, flushed cheeks, and her full, coral-pink lips are closed. Her long dress has a low, U-shaped neckline. The fabric shimmers from pale, cucumber green to light sunshine yellow. The sleeves of the dress split over the shoulder and a second long, goldenrod-yellow sleeve falls from her elbow off the bottom edge of the canvas. An oversized sunflower, larger than the woman’s face, is affixed to her dress near her left shoulder, closer to us. She looks with dark eyes down toward the small, gold-rimmed mirror she holds in her right hand, farther from us. The child also holds the handle of the mirror with both hands, and in the reflection, the child looks back at us with dark eyes, a button nose, and pink lips. The child’s hair in the reflection is the same copper color as the woman’s, but the child on her lap has blond, shoulder-length hair. The woman rests one hand on the child’s left shoulder, closer to us. The child has a rounded belly and smooth, rosy limbs. The woman and child are reflected in a second mirror hanging on the wall alongside them, opposite us. Their reflections are very loosely painted. The wall behind the pair is sage green across the top and it shifts to fawn brown across the bottom. Brushstrokes are visible throughout, especially in the woman’s dress and hair, and are more blended in the bodies and faces. The artist signed the painting in the lower right corner, “Mary Cassatt.”

    Featured exhibition:

    Mary Cassatt: An American in Paris

    Now on view
  • Art & Artists

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    Play Artle

    Test your knowledge with a new puzzle every day.

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    Borros de Gamançon

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    Five pale-skinned men gather around a rectangular table playing cards and dice against a dark, smoke-gray background in this horizontal painting. Light illuminates the scene dramatically from the upper left, creating bright areas and deep shadows. The two men closest to us play cards. One sits on our side of the table and faces our left in profile, wearing a gleaming, dark, armored breastplate and sleeves over scarlet-red tights. He has a dark brown beard and short, dark hair. He holds his stacked playing cards close to his chest, and he pulls the front one up with a forefinger and thumb as he looks at the man across from him. The young man near the left edge of the composition faces our right, almost in profile, as he half-kneels on his seat. He leans over the table, propped on one elbow. His other hand, closer to us, brushes the underside of his chin as he looks down at his cards. His right cheek and ear are brightly lit and much of the rest of his face cast into dark shadow, though there is a faint suggestion of a goatee around his parted lips. He wears a floppy, feathered cap, a bronze-brown shirt with full sleeves, and dark breeches over gray stockings. A bearded man with a tanned complexion stands behind the young man to our left. He looks toward the other end of the table at the dice players, and holds up a hand with two fingers extended. He wears a pointed metal helmet and holds a tall wooden staff with his other hand, along the left side of the canvas. Wrinkles line his forehead and create creases around his open mouth. Opposite us, two men look down at two small dice on the table. One man stands at the short end of the table to our right, with his right fingertips resting on the table over the dice. He wears a floppy, feathered cap over dark hair, and his brown beard is trimmed. His dark eyebrows are lowered and he has a long, straight nose. His ivory-white shirt has vertical black stripes and shimmers in the light. A metal collar, a piece of armor, rests around his neck and his hips are wrapped in a charcoal-gray cloth before being lost in the shadows under the table. In front of him, seen between the two card players, the fifth man faces the other dice player, leaning with his right hand on the table and holding up his other hand, palm out and fingers outstretched. His shoulder is bare where his cream-colored shirt has slipped down, and he wears a ruby-red, slashed, floppy hat. The light illuminates the back of his shoulder and side of his face, and the rest of his face is shrouded in shadow but we can see his mouth is open.
    Valentin de Boulogne, Soldiers Playing Cards and Dice (The Cheats), c. 1618/1620, oil on canvas, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 1998.104.1

    Soldiers Playing Cards and Dice (The Cheats)

    Soldiers Playing Cards and Dice (The Cheats)

    Valentin de Boulogne · c. 1618/1620 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1998.104.1

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