Cassatt’s dream of visiting Spain came true in 1872. The trip left a lot of impressions, and their positive influence on the artist’s work is noticeable in a series of paintings related to the Spanish theme.

The desire to visit this country most likely arose in her after she became acquainted in 1867 with the works of Manet, a supporter of everything related to Spain, and most of Europe at that time was under the charm of everything Spanish. Thanks to the exhibition of Manet’s paintings, Cassatt realized that she could use the experience of famous artists of the past in her work.

She harmoniously “mixed” the line of Courbet with his realism, filled with romantic motifs, into Manet’s style, which was clearly distinguished by modernism. She chose mainly traditional subjects for her paintings on the Spanish theme.

The work, which vividly illustrates Cassatt’s artistic style of this period, is called “Spanish Dancer Wearing a Lace Mantilla”. The artist maintains a certain restraint in the details, not overloading them with the ethnographic component.

The composition turned out to be “cut”, due to which all attention is paid to the heroine’s gesture, as well as her soulful, “catching” look. The first shoots are already appearing, signaling that the impressionistic style is just around the corner: color, paired with lighting.

The restraint that Cassatt showed here in the details will eventually become one of the distinctive features of her works.