La Coiffure (1894)

Morisot, Berthe (1841-1895)

La Coiffure (The Hairstyle)
1894
Oil on canvas, 55 x 46 cm
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires

In 1893, with the modesty that characterised all her work, Berthe Morisot addressed the subject of hairdressing for the first time (Jeune fille se coiffant, 1893, Ny Carlsberg GlyptotekCopenhagen; Devant la glace, private collection). The subject, which was in vogue at the time, would be addressed by all the Impressionist painters, as is clearly demonstrated by the paintings on a similar theme by Pierre Renoir (1888, private collection), Edgar Degas (1896, National GalleryLondon) and Toulouse-Lautrec, although the latter two would approach it with an ironic bias that was absent in Morisot. In 1894, Berthe devoted a series of works to the toilette (Jeunes femmes à leur toilette, Phillips CollectionWashington), the bath (Le bain, private collection), and hairdressing (L’hortensia, 1894, Musée d’OrsayParis). There is no longer a single character in these paintings; the artist used two professional models, Marthe and Jeanne-Marie, who posed in her studio on Rue Weber. The Buenos Aires painting is from that production.

Marthe, the brunette, is in the centre of the painting, wearing a white nightgown; she is sitting on a chair in front of a mirror that the viewer cannot see; behind her, on the left side of the composition, is Jeanne-Marie, the blonde, combing her hair. We do not know if she is the governess. The scene takes place in a room with pink wallpaper; on the walls hang two Japanese mirrors, two fans and a painting: Corsage noir (National Gallery of IrelandDublin), an important canvas by Morisot from 1876. This is not a nostalgic reference; as in other paintings, the French painter defines the lifestyle of a woman of her time and her environment from the elements of the setting. Depicted in a ball gown, the woman in the background is nothing more than an allegory of female beauty and success. This kind of painting within a painting is reminiscent of a painting by Édouard ManetMadame de Callias – which Morisot particularly admired and which she had acquired when the artist’s studio was sold.

The coiffure reveals a certain compositional autonomy. Off-centre to the left – despite the fact that the profile of the seated girl is located in the centre of the canvas – the work would never have been balanced in the same way (group of fans on the wall, on the right) by an official salon painter.

Thanks to the impressionists and especially Pierre Renoir, Morisot was clarifying the tones of their fabrics and adopting a free and fluid brushstroke. The pale tones and a harmony of pastel colors contributed to creating a climate of intimacy. From 1880, Berthe, along with Édouard Manet and Eva Gonzalès, had begun to paint on the unprepared fabric, acquiring great expressive freedom.
The work belonged to the collection of Ernest Rourat and his wife, the latter (Julie Manet) daughter of Berthe and her husband, Eugène Manet. (Barbara Musetti | MNBA)