The Coiffure

Mary Cassatt, 1890–1891

A pale-skinned woman, nude from the waist up, gathers her hair in her raised hands as she sits before a mirror in this vertical, colored print. The large mirror is to our right, and the woman’s body is mostly turned away from us. Her head is bowed but a loose tendril of black hair hanging beside one cheek is reflected in the mirror. Her lower body is wrapped in a voluminous pale cloth as she leans forward on a white, curved, upholstered armchair. Her facial features, the contours of her body, and the folds of the towel are all delineated with thin black strokes. The mirror is set into the dark gray wall in front of the woman but the wall to our left, past her shoulders, is blank. The floor has a gray floral pattern against white.
Artista
Mary Cassatt
Datazione
1890–1891
Tipologia
Stampa
Tecnica
color drypoint, softground etching, and aquatint on laid paper
Dimensioni
36,4 × 26,3 cm
Collezione
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Licenza
Pubblico dominio, CC0

Descrizione dell’immagine

A pale-skinned woman, nude from the waist up, gathers her hair in her raised hands as she sits before a mirror in this vertical, colored print. The large mirror is to our right, and the woman’s body is mostly turned away from us. Her head is bowed but a loose tendril of black hair hanging beside one cheek is reflected in the mirror. Her lower body is wrapped in a voluminous pale cloth as she leans forward on a white, curved, upholstered armchair. Her facial features, the contours of her body, and the folds of the towel are all delineated with thin black strokes. The mirror is set into the dark gray wall in front of the woman but the wall to our left, past her shoulders, is blank. The floor has a gray floral pattern against white.

Mary Cassatt