Public Park

This group of women and girls gathered in the Tuileries Garden, a public park in Paris, appear absorbed in their individual activities. Despite this lack of overt interaction, the compressed space gives the composition a sense of intimacy, which is reinforced by the figures’ loose-fitting dresses, a style typically worn in private. The color red punctuates the scene via the stripe on an omnibus in the background and the outfit of the little girl playing among the group.

Ker-Xavier Roussel was a member of the Nabis, the generation of artists following Post-Impressionists like Georges Seurat. Along with other Nabi artists—including his brother-in-law Edouard Vuillard—Roussel sought to portray the beauty and mystery in everyday life.