Francesca Woodman's Haunting Self-Portraits Examined

Francesca Woodman, born in Colorado in 1958 to artist parents, spent summers on a farm in Tuscany and attended school there for a year. She studied photography at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and went on an exchange to Rome in 1975. After graduating, she moved to New York in 1979 to pursue a career in photography but her portfolios were met with disinterest. She became depressed after a breakup and attempted suicide in 1980. She moved in with her parents and attended therapy, but died by suicide on January 19, 1981. Her father attributed her death to unsuccessful funding applications. Woodman's photographs feature shabby interiors, often in abandoned spaces, creating an out-of-time atmosphere contrasting with young female bodies. She frequently used herself as a model, obscuring her face or body. Art critic Arthur Danto noted she always showed herself as the same character in various mise-en-scenes. Her work resonates with young women feeling isolated and underappreciated.