Terrasse de café, Paris

Close up of Terrasse de café, Paris

Painting, rendered in Cubist-style, is a kaleidoscope of colorful geometric shapes forming the elements of busy outdoor cafe scene. Waiters in white jackets serve patrons seated at tables shaded by large red sun umbrellas in the background.
Painting, rendered in Cubist-style, is a kaleidoscope of colorful geometric shapes forming the elements of busy outdoor cafe scene. Waiters in white jackets serve patrons seated at tables shaded by large red sun umbrellas in the background.
Celine M. Tabary, Terrasse de café, Paris, 1950; Oil on canvas, 32 x 39 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Corinne Mitchell. Painting conservation funds generously provided by the Southern California State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts

Céline Marie Tabary was best-known for painting recognizable yet abstracted landscapes of her home country and Washington, D.C. Tabary primarily painted in an impressionist style and palette. Her work is filled with recognizable images of gardens, cafes, streets, old houses, and bridges, typically painted outside of the studio en plein air (in the open air). When Loïs Mailou Jones was in Paris from 1937 to 1938, the two friends often placed their easels next to one another along the Seine.

In Terrasse de café, Paris, Tabary portrays a lively scene of daily life. Beneath pink umbrellas, waiters in white jackets serve café patrons who enjoy a moment of leisure. By fracturing the forms into geometric shapes that recall analytical cubism or futurism, Tabary gives the scene energy and movement.

Artwork Details

  • Artist

    Céline Marie Tabary
  • Title

    Terrasse de café, Paris
  • Date

    1950
  • Medium

    Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions

    31 ½ x 39 in.
  • Donor Credit

    Gift of Corinne Mitchell. Painting conservation funds generously provided by the Southern California State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
  • On Display

    No