Woman in a Striped Dress 1898

Curator: This is Ker Xavier Roussel's "Woman in a Striped Dress," residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's so ethereal! Almost like a daydream caught on paper, a fleeting memory of summer. Curator: Indeed. Roussel masterfully balances form and looseness. The woman, though central, merges with the verdant landscape. Note how the stripes echo the verticality of the trees. Editor: It is like she's not separate from the landscape, or perhaps she is fading back into it. I wonder who she is, and what she is thinking. Curator: Roussel, deeply inspired by mythology and nature, often depicted figures in harmonious settings. His work blends symbolism and sensuality. Editor: Well, it certainly makes you want to step right into that scene. A perfect world, right there.