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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.

    Play now

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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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    • Games and Interactives
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    • Research

    Play Artle

    Test your knowledge with a new puzzle every day.

    Play now

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    A nearly nude, pale-skinned woman rides an oversized seashell being pulled by stylized dolphins in this horizontal painting. Four muscular, tanned men with dark, unruly curly hair surround the shell and play music. The woman sits on a seat made by twisting red coral with her body angled to our right. She turns her face up and to our left, to the sky. She has dark eyes and brows, a heart-shaped face, a cleft in her chin, and her pink lips are parted. Her auburn-brown hair appears gathered at the base of her neck and long tresses lift in the breeze over her right shoulder, to our left. A teardrop-shaped pearl hangs from the ear we can see. A celestial-blue cloth and a translucent white veil wraps over one shoulder and flutters behind her. The cloth then drapes across her back and over her thighs, exposing her soft tummy and rounded hips. The fish-like dolphins pulling the shell have rounded heads and black, glassy eyes. Short fins run the length of their curved backs over dark, olive-green skin. The woman guides them using red, twisted cords looped through their mouths. A pair of musicians are to each side of the shell. To our left and in the lower corner, one man holds a flute to his lips. The outer corners of his eyebrows arch up under a lined forehead. A ring of broad leaves wraps around his waist. Another man behind him blows with cheeks puffed into a shell as he looks at us. In the pair to our right, on the far side of the shell, one man holds a stick, perhaps guiding the vessel, while another, at the front of the grouping, blows into a shell. The man at front wears rings of leaves around his head and waist. The scene is lit starkly from our left, illuminating the woman and casting the rest into shadow. The water around the group is dark, pine green. Rocky mountains dotted with trees and buildings rise in the distance. Ash-gray clouds create diagonal bands moving up and to our right against a muted blue sky.
    Bernardo Cavallino, The Triumph of Galatea, c. 1650, oil on canvas, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2000.61.1

    The Triumph of Galatea

    The Triumph of Galatea

    Bernardo Cavallino · c. 1650 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  2000.61.1

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