4. Virginie de Sartorius & Berthe Art
In the 19th century, Virginie de Sartorius and Berthe Art belonged to a small group of professional female artists. Like their male counterparts, such as Louis Dubois, they operated within their own niche with the aim of appealing to the bourgeoisie. They mainly painted floral and fruit still lifes or compositions depicting trinkets. However, they also tried to revive the traditional still life, mixing it with elements from other visual genres. Thus they introduced characters in their work. Faces made of flesh or stone, masks, which may or may not have their eyes fixed on you, frozen in time like a snapshot.
Berthe Art grew up in an environment where there was a love of art, and worked mainly in pastels. Still Life with Fan, Death Mask and Peacock Feather is one of her remarkable and quite different works. Not only is it painted in oils, the subject matter is far removed from her charming floral scenes. Although at first glance, you might not agree. After all, the plaster-cast head positioned in the middle of the objects is not simply a representation of a woman's face. It is a death mask, specifically of 'L'Inconnue de la Seine', an unknown young woman who drowned in the Seine in the late 1880s. A plaster cast was made of her face. Her beauty enchanted many and the frequently reproduced mask became a popular object among Parisian bohemians. It even inspired writers like Camus and Rilke. The mask appears to be staring into space, away from our gaze. Around it you can spot a fan and some peacock feathers, Eastern objects that you will also see crop up in other works.
We know very little about Virginie de Sartorius. The Liège native, who was born deaf to a noble family, received considerable praise for her still lifes that hark back to the 17th century. Her work had a certain appeal. One critic wrote: "Miss Virginie de Sartorius painted fruit. It makes your mouth water; one can genuinely say that this young lady’s way of painting bears fruit".
The fruit can also be seen in a composition she produced in 1851. It is a floral arrangement with the bust of Louise Marie of Orleans in the centre. The first Queen of Belgium had died a year earlier at the royal summer residence here in Ostend. If you look closely, you can make out a view of the other royal residence, in Laeken, on the left.
The portrait is of a bust, not a live model. As a result, in contrast to the flowers, the face feels somewhat sterile. The Queen is looking at you, but makes no connection.