Street at Night, Meudon
1910s
Medium
watercolor and gouache over graphite on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 22.2 x 17.5 cm (8 3/4 x 6 7/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mimi and Sanford Feld
Accession Number
2005.143.12
Art Historical Context
Gwen John's *Street at Night, Meon* (1910s) captures the quiet mystery of a Parisian suburb after dark. Created with watercolor and gouache layered over a delicate graphite underdrawing on wove paper, this intimate 22.2 x 17.5 cm work exemplifies John's mastery of mixed media. The opaque gouache adds luminous depth to the nocturnal scene, while watercolor's fluidity evokes the subtle glow of streetlamps and shadowed facades—techniques that highlight her post-Impressionist sensitivity to light and atmosphere. Living in Meudon, a hilly enclave southwest of Paris, from around 1913, John drew ins...