The Hand Mirror — Alfred Stevens | Art Postcard

A young woman with loose auburn hair holds a small oval mirror up to her face, her gaze entirely her own — not directed at the viewer but turned inward, attending to something only she can see. Stevens gave her pearl-drop earrings, a white high-collared blouse, and a composition that asks for nothing except a moment's quiet attention.

"Le Miroir à main" (c. 1870s) is one of Stevens's most intimate studies: a single figure against a warm, barely-tinted background, stripped of the elaborate japonisme furnishings or coastal drama that fill his larger canvases. The composition belongs to a series of single-figure studio works Stevens painted through the 1870s, exploring mood through texture and stillness rather than narrative incident. What remains is the light, the fabric, and a face. A postcard from the Alfred Stevens collection by Zolota Ptakha, 10×15 cm on 350 g/m².