21 Aug A transitional moment in the status of women in the arts
This picture shows us a transitional moment in the status of women in the arts. We see a group of women studying in an artist’s studio, which is of course relatively modern, as there were no studios where groups of women studied before the mid-18th century, even in Paris.
But the studio where they are working specializes in flower painting, which was considered ladylike and suited to women’s limited capacities. The women in the studio are also a transitional group, as they include some (such as the woman standing in the center, who is probably the Duchesse de Berry) who are learning painting as a ladylike accomplishment, and others who are studying to paint professionally. The scene is also a great document in fashion history and shows a fashion trend at its height: the chemise dress, without corset or petticoats, popularized by Empress Josephine and the other ‘merveilleuses’ of post-Revolutionary Paris. Every one of the women is wearing the style, as well as the Roman-styled, unpowdered hairstyles that accompanied it; the duchess is even wearing the shawl that was considered necessary to mask the sexiness of the style and/or to keep wearers from catching cold in their insubstantial dresses.
