The Coiffure

The Coiffure places Federico Zandomeneghi squarely within the Impressionist subject matter of Parisian women in private domestic moments — a territory he shared with Degas, whose work he deeply admired and who became a close friend. Hair-dressing and the coiffure scene were established Impressionist subjects by the time Zandomeneghi took them up: Degas had treated them extensively, as had Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt. Zandomeneghi's pastel technique brought a particular intimacy to the subject — pastel's dry, powdery quality seemed suited to the soft textures of hair and the interior light of a dressing room. As an Italian in the Impressionist circle, he brought a Mediterranean attentiveness to feminine subjects that gave his work a warmth distinct from Degas's sometimes cooler analysis.

Pastel allowed Zandomeneghi to work with hatched strokes of pure colour that optically mix on the viewer's retina rather than on the support. For hair specifically, pastel's ability to blend and layer created the soft, complex colour of natural hair more convincingly than oil. The dry medium also captured the texture of fabrics and skin with characteristic directness.