This pointillist-style close-up self-portrait by French artist Lucie Cousturier depicts herself as young woman with bobbed hair, wearing a dark blue dress, against a softly colored, patterned background. She has a relaxed expression as she indirectly gazes towards us from almond-shaped eyes. Her skin tones are warm yellows and peaches, with pink on her cheeks while her lips are a muted reddish-pink. Cousturier's hair is dark, cut into a short bob, with golden highlights. Cousturier is wearing a dark blue v-neck top with patches of burgundy visible at the neckline and shoulders. The texture of the dress is suggested by short, visible brushstrokes which give the impression of fabric. The background features an abstract pattern, composed of pale pinks, purples, and blues, drawing our focus back to the sharper details of the woman’s face and dress. Born to a wealthy and innovative family, Lucie Brû was a nonconformist. In 1900, she married writer Edmond Cousturier, with whom she had a son in 1901. That same year year, she presented her work at the Salon des indépendants in Paris. In 1906, she exhibited at the Salon de la libre esthétique in Brussels, and at the Berliner Secession in Berlin. Her first solo show was in Paris at the Eugène Druet Gallery in 1907. A pointillist painter, Cousturier had a predilection for landscapes, outdoor painting and the luminous quality of Southern France. From 1911, Cousturier started writing about the major members of Neo-Impressionism, making her the first specialist of the movement. Later, she engaged in an anticolonialist reflection and, after WWI, published autobiographical stories, in particular "Des inconnus chez moi" aka "Unknown persons at home" in 1920. She wrote about travels to West Africa and her vision of African peoples contrasted sharply with the exotic representation that many popular colonial artists had at the time as her artwork depicted differentiated individuals rather than African archetypes.

Self-Portrait by Lucie Cousturier (French) - Oil on panel / c 1905-1910 - Indianapolis Museum of Art (Indiana) #WomenInArt #ArtText #WomanArtist #FemaleArtist #SelfPortrait #art #OilPainting #LucieCousturier #Cousturier #pointillism #womensart #portraitofawoman #FrenchArtist #IndianapolisMuseumofArt

Lucie Cousturier was at the center of Parisian Neo-Impressionist circles of the late-19th and early-20th centuries. She was an accomplished artist in her own right, with a distinguished exhibition record, and a writer who published early and definitive articles and books on important artists within the Neo-Impressionist movement, including Georges-Pierre Seurat and Paul Signac. Fellow Neo-Impressionist French artist Maximilien Luce painted this portrait of her in 1903. Cousturier was also an art patron; she and her husband, Edmond Cousturier, owned a major collection of Neo-Impressionist paintings, including Seurat’s 1884 magnum opus, "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte", which Cousturier’s father, Léon Casimir Brû, gave to her as a wedding present in 1900 ... and now prominently displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago. In this portrait, we see another famous work in her collection, Signac's "View of the Seine at Herblay" from 1889. as the upper framed painting behind Cousturier. Later in life, Cousturier traveled widely in Western Africa and, unusual for a French woman of her era, became recognized for her criticism of French colonialism: her 1920 book "Des Inconnus chez moi" (Unknown Persons at Home) addressed the problem of colonial prejudices and stereotypes, and the French government’s mistreatment of Africans. With a post-impressionistic and pointillistic style of textured, vibrant colors, Luce depicts Cousturier as a slender stylish woman in a full-length long-sleeve dark dress fitted at the waist flowing loosely to the floor. A fancy wide-brimmed hat casts a shadow over her face and a yellow bow is visible at her neck, providing a small splash of bright color against the darkness of her dress. With her short black hair visible beneath the hat, she appears poised and self-assured standing elegantly in the living room of her own house, right hand resting gently on her hip, and the left hand stretching forward to hold a closed, pale yellow parasol.

Lucie Cousturier by Maximilien Luce (French) - Oil on canvas / 1903 - Museum of Modern Art (New York) #WomenInArt #ArtText #MoMA #art #oilpainting #Neo-Impressionism #MaximilienLuce #Luce #LucieCousturier #MuseumofModernArt #womensart #portraitofawoman #Pointillism #artwork #FrenchArt #FrenchArtist