The Coiffure
Berthe Morisot·1894
Historical Context
Painted in 1894 and now in the National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires, this canvas depicting a woman having her hair arranged belongs to the intimate grooming and toilette subjects that recur throughout Morisot's late career. The coiffure as a subject — a moment of feminine self-preparation observed from an intimate vantage — was also explored by Degas, but where Degas's approach often carries detachment or surveillance, Morisot depicts the ritual as natural, comfortable, and shared between women. This late work is particularly free in its handling.
Technical Analysis
The figures are loosely resolved from rapid, layered strokes in warm flesh tones, warm greys, and soft blues. Morisot suggests the movement of hair-dressing through the arrangement of the figures and the direction of the hairdresser's arm rather than through specific descriptive detail. The handling is impressively assured in its economy.
