Leaving, An Impression

The Departure (Le Départ) by Eva Gonzales, on display as part of the Women Impressionists exhibition which runs at the National Gallery of Ireland until the 6 October 2024.

Eva Gonzales

The Departure (Le Départ)

1873-1874

Pastel on paper

An excerpt from the accompanying description,

In the 1870s Gonzales made many single-figure studies of modern women in imagined scenarios. Here, a young woman is dressed for a journey, her luggage rests on the ground at the pictures edge. The neutral setting foregrounds the lone figure. The artist invites us to read the woman’s expression and stylish costume, and to contemplate the implied narrative. Who is she? Where is she going? Why?

On Leaving, ©Julie Corcoran 2017.

It immediately grabbed my attention as nearly 150 years later I made the photograph, On Leaving. The same questions apply. Where are we going?