There is always a certain tension that comes with painting a sexualized portrait of a woman and it’s consequences. This tension was brought to light in Pierre-Auguste Cot’s painting “Mademoiselle with a Bouquet.” In this article, the author talks about contemplation of the brushstrokes, color palette, and unfinished surfaces of this painting to examine how they heighten our curiosity as we try to identify where the subject springs from.
When a painting that depicts a woman appears, it proves to be an endless source of fascination, remaining a classic in the sense that many people study it and show their interpretation. One such painting, audaciously called “Mademoiselle with a Bouquet,” was shown at the Salon in 1880 as part of an eclectic exhibit curated by Pierre-Auguste Cot (1874). Critics were not certain of which novel inspired this work yet, but they had their conclusions nonetheless.
The painting is an example of a “female” aesthetic or virtuoso figure painting. Women appear in the painting giving their blessings to the mother, while they are perhaps modeling themselves after Georges Charpentier’s famously elegant women. The famous painting is a good representation of Cot’s broad use of innovation in both art and society during his time.
Madame Georges Charpentier appears in a white dress with flowing sleeves. She leans against a lemon tree, holding flowers and grapes in her hair. Cot captures a sense of carefree serenity as she reflects on living life with love and joy.
Pierre-Auguste Cot’s painting “Mademoiselle with a Bouquet” questions where the subject springs from. The painting’s subject is a woman wearing white dress and red cape, she seems to be holding something in her hand that could be flowers, or packaging instead.
Pierre-Auguste Cot is one of the most renowned Impressionist painters, and his work is full of color and life. He conveys something about nature that connects all of us with its beauty. His painting “Mademoiselle with a Bouquet” features a woman in red standing before three vases with flowers from the previous springtime seasons. The woman’s clothing is quite ornate with an abundance of beads and tissue paper pomanders hanging from her pointed hat; however, the bouquet on the ground indicates that she had fallen short of not only owning flowers for the gardening of them but for their enjoyment as well.
Pierre-Auguste Cot’s painting “Mademoiselle with a Bouquet” is reflective of this transitional time. It is said that springtime brought new life to everyone, and it was celebrated in numerous ways – flowers were even sold at markets. Pierre-Auguste Cot painted a beautiful young woman with a bouquet of flowers, but who is she?
How would past audiences have reacted to thinking the painting was depicting a woman from de Saint-Pierre’s novel Paul et Virginie?
The painting is a portrait of a woman reading by candlelight, while her lover is at work. There is a lack of context in the image because we don’t know where they are or who they are. Because there was no definitive answer as to whether the painting was depicting characters who were present in de Saint-Pierre’s novel Paul et Virginie, some audiences considered it to be more abstract.
In the 1830s, not many viewers of this painting would have seen any similarities to their heroine because the painting was noted for its delicate, soft tones. When Cot met Madame Récamier in 1832 he commented on this ”luminous cover” posing a question if people can recognize themselves. In his novel Paul et Virginie de Saint-Pierre describes himself as being over sixty before he had sex with Virginie. The past audience wouldn’t have been able to articulate the difference between Cot’s and de Saint-Pierre’s time frames even though they had lived them.
Where might Cot have gotten his ideas?
“Mademoiselle with a Bouquet” is an oil painting by Pierre-Auguste Cot which was done in 1884. It is a composition of colorful, bright colors that form the woman’s dress and flowers. The painting is somewhat reminiscent of Henri Matisse, who coincidentally became influenced to paint colorful pictures of sweets that many delicacies look like. Cot’s work may be related to what he considered perfection. He might have been wanting to add life through color given his belief that reality can never be allowed to outshine art.
Though Cot was born in Paris, France he was quickly brought to Italy where he became a student of the Venetian school of painting. His influences were often from classical sources and especially from mythology. Consequently, much of his works feature fantastic subject matter and great attention to detail. This often made his work very complicated for the viewer.
Did Pierre-Auguste Cot really paint his own portrait as some theories suggest, or was he just imitating his father’s work?
There are many theories that suggest that Pierre-Auguste Cot did not actually paint “Mademoiselle with a Bouquet” himself, but instead painted his father’s portrait and signed it. This is difficult to determine, as Pierre-Auguste never told anyone the truth before his death in 1876. However, other artists signed their own works during this period.
Pierre-Auguste Cot was a painter of flowers and women with delicate features. Many people believe that he did not paint his own work but created copies of paintings by his father or several other artistic predecessors after study for years in his workshop or at the Louvre. It is said he strove tirelessly to copy those paintings with the same taste, elegant poses and textures. As a result, in the historiography many art critics presume that he never painted what we consider to be his individual idiom.
The painting “Mademoiselle with a Bouquet” by Pierre-Auguste Cot has led to many different theories being presented. The many theories have ranged from the false assumption that it was an original painting, to the theory that it was just an imitation of his father’s work. More recent research on the painting points to its authenticity and is able to confirm that Cot himself painted it.
