Artwork
A Woman Passing By
A Woman Passing By is a print by the Impressionist artist Théophile Alexandre Steinlen. It dates from 1897 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1897 by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, A Woman Passing By is a lithograph that captures a fleeting urban moment. The work resides in The Cleveland Museum of Art’s print collection. Its composition emphasizes movement and atmosphere over detail, reflecting the artist’s interest in everyday life and the transient nature of modern existence in late 19th-century Paris.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts a woman mid-stride, glancing backward as if interrupted by an unseen presence. Her anonymity and partial turn suggest a moment of private reflection amid public space. Steinlen avoids narrative specificity, instead inviting contemplation of solitude within the city’s rhythm. The figure becomes a symbol of quiet resilience, unremarkable yet deeply human.
Technique & Style
The woman’s clothing and hair are rendered with smoky, textured shading, while the background dissolves into indistinct strokes.
Steinlen employed bold, expressive lines and dense tonal contrasts to model form and suggest motion. The woman’s clothing and hair are rendered with smoky, textured shading, while the background dissolves into indistinct strokes. This selective focus—sharp on the figure, blurred in the surroundings—relies on chiaroscuro to isolate her presence, a technique common among artists exploring psychological depth in urban scenes.
History & Provenance
The print was produced during Steinlen’s active years in Paris, where he contributed illustrations to journals and posters. It entered The Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection through established acquisition channels in the 20th century. While not widely exhibited at the time of creation, its quiet power has since secured its place in studies of modern graphic art and social observation.
Context
Emerging in the wake of Impressionism and alongside the rise of poster art, Steinlen’s work reflects a broader cultural turn toward depicting ordinary life with emotional nuance. His focus on working-class figures, often women, aligned with the interests of socially conscious artists and writers of the period. The lithograph’s immediacy mirrors the pace and anonymity of urban modernity.
Legacy
A Woman Passing By exemplifies Steinlen’s contribution to the evolution of printmaking as a medium for psychological realism. Though less celebrated than his posters, this work influenced later artists interested in capturing transient moments with minimal means. Its restrained elegance continues to inform discussions on the intersection of everyday life and artistic expression in modern graphic art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Théophile Alexandre Steinlen (November 10, 1859 – December 13, 1923), was a Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker. He was politically engaged and collaborated with the anarchist and socialist press.
In the Street (Dans la Rue)
H Beard Print Collection
Etude
La Femme (frontispiece)
Woman in a Cape (La femme à la pèlerine)
Woman with a Cape
Parisian Woman (The Effect of the Night)
Woman with a Vase (La femme au vase)
Woman in a Cape (La Femme à la Pelerine)
Etude
Florence Leyland
Et un autre ange sortit du temple qui est au ciel, ayant lui aussi une faucille tranchante (And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also having a sharp sickle)