Study For A Parisian Cafe 1875

Ilya Repin painted this study for a Parisian cafe in 1875. It depicts a woman in profile, fashionably dressed in the style of the time. Repin, a Russian artist, was interested in capturing scenes of modern life, and the Parisian cafe, a new social institution at that time, would have been a very modern subject. Cafes provided public places for people to meet, talk, and observe one another. In Paris, they were associated with new freedoms and opportunities for women, although their presence in such spaces was still subject to scrutiny. Repin’s study captures the woman’s fashionable dress and bearing, giving us a glimpse into the culture of the time. To understand this painting better, we can research the social history of cafes and the changing roles of women in 19th-century Paris. Art history helps us to interpret the painting, and to consider its relation to social norms and the evolving status of women at that time.