Twilight (aka Le Crepuscule)

Twilight (aka Le Crepuscule) is a charming piece by Childe Hassam from around 1888. Towards the end of the 19th century the painter was still very much developing artistically, and also attempting to build a strong following for his work.

The content of this painting does not quite marry with Impressionism as much as some of the artist's other work, but it is still a delightful piece which shows some of the sensitivity that he possessed. We find two young women dressed in white, sat upon a terrace garden surrounded by chimneys in this makeshift area of peace and tranquility. One sits on a curved wooden bench, whilst the other stands and peers over to admire the view below. Several potted plants have been arranged to bring this garden feel to life, but without the grassed lawn it is always going feel second-best. Hassam regularly painted gardens in more rural properties and in this example shows how city-based residents would attempt to cope with the smaller amounts of room available. Some today might even consider this terrace to be something of a luxury, such is the increasingly crampt nature of most western cities a century later.

Hassam was not known particularly as a portrait painter, but he was able to work within this genre fairly effectively. Within Twilight (aka Le Crepuscule) he captures two women, one of whom is sat down on the bench. She has her hands in her lap in a modest pose, and leans forward with enthusiasm but also a calmness. Her friend stands with one hand resting on the wall besides them, and holds a graceful, elegant posture as she politely looks down around the building. We can see small elements of the skyline around the city beyond her, though also with much of the sky left bare and slightly overcast. This might have been an angle some residents would never see, atop some large houses in a private garden would only have been available to a select few that could afford it or were friends with those who could.

This painting helps to remind us of the versatility of the artist, and that although he is most famous for certain genres, he was actually able to work well in quite a number of different formats. The breadth of his oeuvre is sometimes forgotten by those who insist on focusing on his connection to the French Impressionists, although that was an important part of his background as an artist. Other portraits do exist from his career, including the very traditional formats such as waist length formal work which may have been ordered by commission. The current whereabouts of Twilight (aka Le Crepuscule) could not be determined, and so it may reside within a private collection.