Woman Praying, Brittany

Augusta Payne Rathbone

Augusta Rathbone depicts a woman at prayer in Brittany, northern France, dressed in traditional clothing. The artist keeps her composition simple and serene, a figure in profile, a basket, a chair and a figure in the background. The quiet brown background is interrupted with a red/orange in the basket and small areas of white in the headdresses. An irregular black shape, the subject's dress, predominates the composition, creating a tension.

While in Paris in 1927, Augusta Rathbone was introduced to printmaking and thereafter worked primarily in color aquatint combined with line etching. Rathbone, who had studied briefly with Bonnard, uses a freely drawn black etched line to capture rough shapes which are then filled with color, using aquatint.While in Paris in 1927, Augusta Rathbone was introduced to printmaking and thereafter worked primarily in color aquatint combined with line etching. Rathbone, who had studied briefly with Bonnard, uses a freely drawn black etched line to capture rough shapes which are then filled with color, using aquatint.

She worked with a professional printer Alfred Porcabeuf in Paris, who would prove her prepared plates. In the 1930s she traveled the French Riviera and her color palette adapted to the colorful villages throughout the region.