For the theme gender, I decided to research Florine Stettheimer, in particular the portrait of Louis Bouché. Stettheimer was a visionary painter, costume designer, poet, and active participant in New York’s early modern art community in the early 1900s[1]. Stettheimer’s portraits defied conventional gender representations through her unique blend of impressionism and symbolism. Her work was arguably a movement, foregrounding ideas about gender and introducing the concept of gender fluidity in her work.
This piece from 1923 is displayed at the Heckscher Museum of Art[2]. It consists of oil on canvas and is a portrait of her friend, American artist Louis Bouché. However, what is interesting to me, is that Stettheimer deliberately chose not to represent her friend as a traditional masculine figure, but instead utilises the idea of fluidity to fight the societal constraints on gender. The body is depicted as a slender frame, with long, delicate limbs. The over exaggerated top hat juxtaposed with the intricate, whimsical shapes create that gender harmony. She doesn’t paint him as a broad, rough manly figure that we are so used to seeing portrayed, but instead cerates a sense of vulnerability coincided with pride. Stettheimer is reconsidering what gender is, and isn’t simply painting a portrait of her friend, but instead is revealing her view of gender as a fluid concept.