Albert Edelfelt

Executed in Paris early spring 1884.

In spring 1884, the Finnish painter Albert Edelfelt felt “a scent of spring and life" wafting in through the vast windows and French balconies of his large corner studio in a modern studio house in northwest Paris. The neighbourhood around Parc Monceau was fashionable, with such celebrities living nearby as the artists Ernest Meissonier, John Singer Sargent and Bastien-Lepage , all of whom belonged to Edelfelt’s circle of acquaintances. The studio consisted of two spaces with six-metre ceilings thrown together, and a bunk. The real novelty for Edelfelt was the outdoor painter's light that streamed in from the west as well as the north. Previously, he had always worked in studios with cold northern light, which was suitable for academic figure painting. On a hot day, it might be impossible to paint in the studio which bathed in light and was hot as a greenhouse, and Edelfelt would open his French balcony doors and let in the spring air from the streets of Paris and the green hills at Neuilly.

Ever since he first arrived in Paris exactly ten years earlier, Edelfelt had always loved the spring. He was seduced by the smells, but above all by the women of the bustling city in their beautiful summer dresses. Those of high society had their own carriages and never went alone in the streets. They visited exhibitions, cafes and department stores. In this painting, Edelfelt reconnects to the impressionist theme of the urban balcony in the work of such painters as Berthe Morrisot, Gustave Caillebotte and Pierre-Auguste Renoir .

Iconographically, Lady on a Balcony belongs to motifs depicting metropolitan Paris, built after Baron Haussmann’s plan with boulevards, green parks, monuments and towers, as well as spaces for cafés and theatres. The lady, 21-year-old professional model Thérèse Lainville, wears a walking costume and summer hat. She has set her parasol down on a stool next to a table with flowers and a newspaper – a symbol of fragrant and vibrant city life. In the snapshot-like picture, the woman is taking off her gloves while enjoying a fine spring day, a smile playing on her face. Edelfelt has captured this vision in situ with fast and sketchy brushstrokes that are reminiscent of Sargent. The palette is an open-air painter’s clear palette with the primary colours of a prism, the tonal treatment based on admiration for Bastien-Lepage. The smell of spring was put into words best by Edelfelt himself: “Oh man lives not by bread alone! / ... / The most glorious sunshine, pale green trees, the scent of spring and life, beautiful dresses, motion, elegant carriages.” (Letter to mother, Paris, 7 April 1882)

Marina Catani