Portrait De Madame Berthier 

Maximilien Luce made this pastel drawing, “Portrait De Madame Berthier,” sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. It depicts a woman quietly absorbed in needlework, her gaze fixed on her hands. Luce was deeply involved in French neo-impressionist circles and was also a committed anarchist. How might we relate this image to the politics of the time? It doesn't celebrate the grand narratives of state power. Instead, it finds beauty and significance in the everyday life and labor of an ordinary woman, drawing attention to those who are often overlooked in official histories. To delve deeper, we might explore the artistic and political networks that Luce was part of, consulting archives of neo-impressionist exhibitions, anarchist journals, and the biographies of his contemporaries. By situating the image in its social and institutional context, we can gain a richer understanding of its cultural work.