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Ritman's interest in decorative patterning is evident in the mixture of floral prints with stripes that contrast with the buzzing confusion of nature seen through the open window.

Ritman, a Chicago artist, settled in Giverny, France near the home of Claude Monet, in 1909.

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Louis Ritman

Sunlit Window, 1918

oil on canvas

47 x 39 ¾ in.

Gift of the Louis Ritman Estate

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In the summer of 1909 Louis Ritman enrolled in the L’Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, the most prestigious art academy in the city. Around 1911 he moved to Giverny, the home of Claude Monet, where he spent almost two decades. In Giverny, Ritman came under the influence of the American Impressionists Richard Miller and Frederick Frieseke. He was particularly inspired by their paintings of women in domestic interiors and garden settings. Their approach differed from that of the previous group of artists who had spent time in Giverny in that they had shifted their focus from the landscape to an emphasis on the figure. They were recognized for their paintings of women relaxing in their boudoirs or in sunlit gardens. By the summer of 1913, Ritman was producing images of nude and partially draped figures in indoor and outdoor scenes.

In Sunlit Window, the restrained flora prints in the wallpaper, curtains, and model’s blouse co-exist with the rhythmic pattern of the potted-plant leaves and the emphatic stripes of the venetian blinds and table legs. The orderly patterns indoors contrast abruptly with the buzzing confusion of nature, seen through the open window as dancing patches of color. The striking difference between the style of Early Morning Sunshine and that of Sunlit Window is no doubt due to Ritman’s contact with the artist Frederick Frieseke, the leader of the Giverny Group, who achievedfame with his use of strong, colorful decorative patterns.

Reference

Richard H. Love. Louis Ritman: From Chicago to Giverny. Chicago: Haase Mumm Publishing Company, ISBN-13: 978-0940114289