The Coiffure

In this intimate print, a woman sits with her back to us, her head tilted as she carefully adjusts her hair. The soft, muted tones and delicate lines of drypoint and aquatint create a sense of quiet concentration. The composition, with its emphasis on the figure's silhouette and the flattened perspective, immediately brings to mind Japanese woodblock prints. Indeed, this work was created after its maker saw a major exhibition of Japanese ukiyo-e prints in Paris, which profoundly influenced her approach to depicting women in everyday activities. By focusing on a private moment of self-care, this print elevates a common domestic scene, inviting us to appreciate the subtle beauty in routine. The abstraction of the figure's form, a deliberate choice inspired by Japanese aesthetics, allows for a focus on line and shape rather than explicit realism, subtly challenging the conventional male gaze prevalent in 19th-century art.