View from the Window

Although he worked in a wide variety of styles, Segal consistently explored optical effects throughout his career. Here, Segal employs a pointillist technique to capture the quality of sunlight, stippling his canvas with tiny dots of pigment. An X-ray of this painting reveals that Segal initially included a seated woman, probably based on a photograph of his wife (both shown below). Note the identical hands, chair, and leaves beside her. In the final version, he removes the woman and replaces the curving, organic lines of the chair with straight, angular lines.