In Tissot’s Summer, a woman stands in front of a room inviting someone in, or perhaps leaving. She wears a sheer muslin dress trimmed with yellow bows, which was considered fashionable for the time. Despite it being contemporary fashion, Tissot received criticism about his works that featured this dress at the 1877 Grosvenor Gallery. Over the years, Tissot repeats this dress in multiple paintings not only for its fashionability, but also for its artistic challenge.
Despite the limited visibility of the garments, the figures within Henry Lerolle’s The Organ Rehearsal can be seen as a fashionable group of churchgoers to 1885 standards, complete with hats with plumes, round skirts, and somber suiting.
Mary Cassatt’s Boating Party shows important changes in art and culture near the end of the 19th century. The Boating Party depicts evolving cultural norms around women and sport, and the rise of womenswear separates. Through Cassatt’s strong graphic shapes, we can see how Impressionist painting evolved to become more experimental and geometric in the 1890s.
Vigée Le Brun’s infamous portrait of Marie Antoinette embodies the tension between fashion and politics in 18th-century France.
The black fabric that tones down Doña Maria Tomasa Durán López de Cárdenas’ extravagant dress, along with the religious subtext of her portrait, demonstrate the subtle differences that the fashions of New Spain had with those of Europe.
In this lively portrait of Carmencita, William Merritt Chase suggests the audience’s enthusiasm for her dancing by including a gold bracelet and flowers tossed at her feet. The celebrated dancer was painted by many other artists—usually wearing an extravagant dance costume—but none captured her exuberance quite like Chase did in this portrait.
Well-known in the 19th century for his skill at portraiture, Wintherhalter created iconic mannered poses and captured ravishingly elegant dresses, like those in this portrait of the Empress Eugénie and her ladies in waiting, who dress in the most fashionable styles of day.
The Fez and the Ottoman Path to Modernity
1869 – Red Silk Dress
katazome (stencil printing)
1905 – André Derain, Lucien Gilbert
Inès Gâches-Sarraute and the Straight-Front Corset