Woman with Red Hair
Albert BESNARD
(French, 1849-1934)
Woman with Red Hair
Dateca. 1896-1902
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionsoverall: 20 5/8 x 17 3/8 in. (52.4 x 44.1 cm)
frame: 26 x 22 1/2 in. (66 x 57.2 cm)
ClassificationPAINTINGS
Credit LineSBMA, Bequest of Katharine Dexter McCormick in memory of her husband, Stanley McCormick
Object number1968.20.3
Subject(s)
- portraits
- women
Collection
- 19th century French
On View
Not on viewLabel TextThe conceit of this painting is misleading: is the sitter locking eyes with herself in her reflection or with the painter, who has invaded her personal space in the very act of painting her? Besnard made a name for himself as a painter and printmaker who steered a middle course between more academic technique and the experimental brushwork of the Impressionists. The sitter’s Japanese robe could be a studio prop of the artist. Her gesture makes it ambiguous as to whether or not she is donning her robe after a sitting for the artist or if she is about to cast it off for the clinically assessing gaze of the painter, in whose stead we stand.