Reflections (Marcelle)
Datebefore 1909
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsCanvas: 32 × 27 inches (81.3 × 68.6 cm)
Framed: 37 1/2 × 31 × 2 1/2 inches (95.3 × 78.7 × 6.4 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase.
Object number1910.10
CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextBorn in Owosso, Michigan, Frederick Carl Frieseke was the son of a local brick manufacturer. He began his formal artistic training in 1893 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and later moved to New York City to study at the Art Students League. In 1897 Frieseke moved to Paris and enrolled in the Académie Julian, where he also began attending classes at the Académie Carmen, the atelier operated by James McNeill Whistler.
Reflections (Marcelle) is representative of Frieseke’s many paintings of nudes lounging in elegant boudoirs, which were often decorated with ornate fabrics and rugs. The model, a redhead named Marcelle who frequently posed for Frieseke, gazes serenely at her reflection. The viewer is placed in close proximity to her carefully rendered figure, which incorporates the serpentine curve embraced by centuries of artists as a hallmark of beauty.
