Frederick Carl Frieseke: La Poudreuse

Frederick Carl Frieseke (1874-1939) *La Poudreuse (Woman Selecting a Necklace)* signed ‘F.C. Frieseke.’ (lower right) oil on canvas 32 x 32 in. (81.3 x 81.3 cm.) Painted by 1913, Image Source: Christie’s

“The woman, likely the artist’s wife Sarah O’Bryan, sits before her poudreuse, compartments open, selecting a necklace to wear…The mood is contemplative yet cheery. The open top of the center compartment draped with a blue and yellow shawl begins a diagonal line that recedes into the painting through the sitter on to the back of the green Windsor chair. A second diagonal line formed by the left lid of the poudreuse, the hand mirror and the sitter’s left arm forms an X, instilling depth, balance and harmony to the scene. …While deeply influenced by the French Impressionists and the Nabis, Frieseke’s compositions also possess techniques revolutionized by the Post-Impressionists. As William H. Gerdts writes, “Frieseke’s use of flat, interlocking patterns to achieve two-dimensional effects allies his art to French Post-Impressionism.” (Monet’s Giverny: An Impressionist Colony, New York, 1993, p. 174)
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