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Girl Arranging Her Hair by Cassatt, Mary

Cassatt, Mary · 1886

Mary Cassatt painted "Girl Arranging Her Hair" in 1886, and it hangs today at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

The painting shows a young girl in a private bedroom, mid-task with her hair. Cassatt catches an unguarded moment: the self-conscious tilt of the face, the hands working an unfinished braid. The white chemise is a technical masterclass in painting soft fabric with real structural weight beneath it.

The painting was born from a direct challenge. Edgar Degas had expressed doubt about women's draftsmanship, so Cassatt set out to answer him in paint. She brought the work to the Eighth and final Impressionist exhibition in Paris. Degas saw it, was captivated, and bought it for himself.

The payoff is in the details. The cast shadow beneath the jaw models the face with a single, confident stroke of classical drawing. The off-center composition and flat floral wallpaper show the Japanese print influence Cassatt and Degas both admired. This was an argument won one brushstroke at a time.

Details

Degas had said women couldn't really draw.
Degas had said women couldn't really draw.
So Cassatt painted this to prove him wrong.
So Cassatt painted this to prove him wrong.
Look at the shadow under her chin.
Look at the shadow under her chin.
The busy rose-patterned wallpaper creates a flat decorative ground, echoing Japanese print influence and pushing the figure forward plastically.
The busy rose-patterned wallpaper creates a flat decorative ground, echoing Japanese print influence and pushing the figure forward plastically.
The upstretched arm creates a bold diagonal line; the ungainly pose was Cassatt's deliberate rebuttal to Degas's doubts about female draftsmanship.
The upstretched arm creates a bold diagonal line; the ungainly pose was Cassatt's deliberate rebuttal to Degas's doubts about female draftsmanship.
Transcript

Paris, 1886. The last Impressionist exhibition. Degas had said women couldn't really draw. So Cassatt painted this to prove him wrong. Look at the shadow under her chin. That single dark shape sculpts the whole face. Degas bought it for his private collection.