Maurice Prendergast

Idyl

c. 1912–1915
Oil on canvas
61 × 81.6 cm (24 × 32.1 in)

SEE IT IN PERSON

● On view now — Collection Gallery, Room 06, South Wall

Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia · verified July 2026

View at barnesfoundation.orgPlan a visit ↗

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

Maurice Prendergast was an American artist who applied the lessons of French post-impressionism to his own painting. The bold brushwork you see here, for example, which lends the canvas its rough texture, was influenced by the pointillist technique of Georges Seurat. Here Prendergast updates the classical tradition of depicting nude women in the outdoors by mixing in clothed and half-dressed figures. These subjects come across not as classical muses but as self-possessed, modern women.

Source ↗

Be the first to share your thoughts.

Sign in to join the discussion.

Community guidelines

More by Maurice Prendergast

St. MaloSt. MaloBrooksville, Maine (River & Rocks)Brooksville, Maine (River & Rocks)On the Beach, No. 3On the Beach, No. 3Beach and VillageBeach and VillageBeach Scene and HillBeach Scene and HillBeach Scene with Two TreesBeach Scene with Two TreesLandscape (Park Scene)Landscape (Park Scene)Seascape–St. MâloSeascape–St. Mâlo

More like this

On the Beach, No. 3Maurice Prendergast (American, born Newfoundland [now CanadaTwo Figures on a MuleCharles Prendergast — Two Figures on a MuleAngelsCharles Prendergast — AngelsPicnic (Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe)Pierre-Auguste Renoir — Picnic (Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe)Girls in a Landscape (Jeunes filles dans un paysage)Pierre-Auguste Renoir — Girls in a Landscape (Jeunes filles Figures and DeerCharles Prendergast — Figures and DeerFigures on a TerraceAdolphe Monticelli (French, 1824–1886) — Figures on a TerracBathing GroupPierre-Auguste Renoir — Bathing GroupTwo Bathers under a Tree at the Water's EdgeAristide Maillol (French, 1861–1944) — Two Bathers under a TBathers (Baigneuses)Pierre-Auguste Renoir — Bathers (Baigneuses)Bathers (Baigneurs)Paul Cézanne — Bathers (Baigneurs)Harmonious TimesPaul Signac (French, 1863–1935) — Harmonious Times