Visage dans un miroir brisé (1969)

"Visage dans un miroir brisé" (1969) — this is one of those works by Hélène de Beauvoir that perfectly encapsulates her ability to merge emotional depth with profound visual expression. The title itself, which translates to “Face in a Broken Mirror”, immediately evokes a sense of fragmentation and introspection. It feels like a powerful exploration of identity, self-perception, and perhaps the struggle to understand one’s own reflection in a world that constantly distorts or limits that reflection.

Contextualising the Title: “Face in a Broken Mirror”

The broken mirror is a classic symbol in both art and literature, often representing fractured identity or the idea that a person can never fully know or see their true self. In Hélène’s case, the image might have been a metaphor for the way she—like many women—was forced to reconcile personal ambitions with the roles society expected her to play. For someone like Hélène, navigating her identity as an artist in the shadow of Simone de Beauvoir’s towering intellectual reputation must have felt like piecing together a fractured image of herself.

Hélène’s Early Life and Her Relationship with Simone

Hélène was born in 1910, two years after her sister Simone, and much of her early life was spent alongside Simone in the intellectual and artistic environments of their time. Growing up, the sisters were incredibly close, but there was an evident dynamic: Simone, the intellectual powerhouse, was always more publicly visible, while Hélène’s artistic voice was quieter, perhaps more subtle but no less significant.

The game they played as children—where they would take on roles of heroes and villains—can be seen as foreshadowing both the strength and constraints that would define their adult lives. While Simone embraced the spotlight, it was clear that Hélène, though undoubtedly talented, was more comfortable navigating the background, often refracted through the lens of Simone’s philosophical presence.

The game, in its simple form, taught Hélène two important lessons that would shape her journey as an artist and as a woman in the world:

• Women had to fight for their place: She learned early on that women, particularly in the world of art and culture, weren’t always handed the same opportunities or recognition as men. She understood that her work needed to stand on its own.

• Simone suited the spotlight: The spotlight was always on Simone, and Hélène recognised it. It was almost as if she accepted her own place outside of the main stage, contributing her artistic voice in her own way, but perhaps not demanding the attention that Simone was so naturally gifted at commanding.

Hélène’s Art and “Visage dans un miroir brisé”

The title of this painting, "Visage dans un miroir brisé", seems to represent this idea of fragmented identity or a kind of internal split that Hélène may have felt between being an artist in her own right and being overshadowed by her famous sister. The act of looking into a broken mirror evokes a sense of self-doubt, but also a desire for recognition and understanding. Hélène may have been contemplating her own fragmented self-image—caught between personal ambition and the societal perception of her as Simone’s sister.

Composition and Colour

Looking at the composition, the broken mirror could literally be reflected in how the pieces of the face are split, making it almost impossible to see the full person in one glance. The face could be angular or abstracted, suggesting a disjointed self-perception. Hélène was often an expressive artist, known for creating works that evoked emotion more than merely replicating a subject’s physical likeness. The colour palette might lean toward muted tones, emphasising the somber, reflective nature of the piece, with perhaps subtle bursts of red or gold to signify moments of intensity, passion, or even the longing for recognition.

Breaking Free from the Shadows

"Visage dans un miroir brisé" feels like an introspective exploration of both Hélène’s personal history and her relationship with the world around her—specifically, the art world and the shadow cast by Simone’s philosophical and intellectual legacy. The fractured self-image suggests that Hélène was deeply aware of her position—an artist struggling to define herself in a world that so often defined her in relation to her sister.

But there is also a feeling of self-determination in the work. The mirror is broken, and while that might initially suggest a loss of clarity, it also indicates freedom from complete self-definition. By breaking the mirror, Hélène could be asserting her right to break free from the constraints of familial expectations, from the comparison to her sister, and to embrace her identity as an artist on her own terms.

Reclaiming Her Place

Hélène’s work, especially in later years, can be seen as a reclamation of her space within the cultural and artistic landscape. She didn’t achieve the same fame or acclaim as Simone, but her art speaks volumes about the complexity of identity, gender, and self-reflection—a reflection of the inner conflicts many women face when they try to carve out a personal path within a world that often expects them to be reflections of others.

Hélène as the Heroine

In the game from her childhood, Hélène played the man—the villain. And while she may have internalised the idea that women had to fight for their place in the world, her art ultimately positions her as the heroine of her own narrative. "Visage dans un miroir brisé" becomes a poignant metaphor for this shift: the broken mirror symbolises the breaking of the muold she had been confined to, both personally and artistically.

The Retrospective and a New Appreciation

The current retrospective celebrating Hélène de Beauvoir’s work, especially "Visage dans un miroir brisé", allows for a reappraisal of her artistic legacy. It’s a chance for audiences to see her not as a secondary figure in Simone’s shadow but as a distinct and powerful voice within modern art. Hélène’s work challenges us to rethink what it means to be a woman artist in history, particularly one who was often overlooked because she didn’t conform to traditional expectations of fame and success.

The retrospective is more than just an homage to her technical skill—it’s a recognition of the emotional depth, the self-questioning, and the fight for identity that defined her art. "Visage dans un miroir brisé" is one of the perfect starting points for this journey, inviting us to see Hélène as she saw herself: not a reflection of someone else, but an artist in her own right, piecing together the fragments of her identity and breaking free from the confines of the mirror.