CHASTAGNOL Karen, CAMILI Anne.
Seduction & Power: The Art of Dressing for Court in the 17th and 18th Centuries.
In Fine
Regular price
€25,00
| N° d'inventaire | 29487 |
| Format | 19 x 26.5 |
| Détails | 104 p, illustrated, paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2023 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782382031179 |
Between the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XVI, Versailles, and then Paris, vied for the title of fashion capital. Court etiquette and ceremonial led King Louis XIV and his entourage to compete in the art of appearance and coquetry. Every accessory, every gesture, every attitude responded to standards and codes that constantly changed, thus accompanying fashions and morals.
This construction of appearance required knowledge of customs and rules and compliance with them to benefit from royal favor and to attest to one's social identity. The body was adorned with various artifices: wigs, makeup, jewelry, perfumes, lace, and pocket and gallantry objects. These fashion and beauty accessories were adopted by the French aristocracy and visitors to the French court under the Ancien Régime, who competed in audacity and refinement in the choice of adornments.
The aristocracy, following the king, was keen to mark its rank and uniqueness by adopting a veritable dress code that allowed it to signal its sociological status to the outside world. Costumes were complemented by various finery: embroidery, lace, and ribbons that vied with sophistication and refinement. Combining finesse of wit and sophistication, fashion accessories, beauty products, and the art of perfume exalted this delicate quest of 18th-century women and men.
This culture of appearances is accompanied by perfect self-control and facial expressions: makeup, powders, beauty spots, and perfumes contribute to a monotony of appearance. It is important to let nothing show in this race for royal favor. The imperative of seduction is part of a double dialectic: a mimicry towards the king and power and a need to free oneself from them in order to be noticed and better reveal one's social status.
Thus, at the end of the 17th century, then in the 18th century, an interest developed in pocket gallantry, which brought together small precious objects, snuff boxes, fans, notebooks, etc., which one carried on oneself and which could be real little jewels or works of art. This court culture gradually transformed in the 18th century. Fashion, hygiene practices and beauty criteria evolved. While wigs and makeup persisted, they faded to give way to naturalness, of which the court nevertheless appeared as the antithesis, lacking sincerity and transparency.
This culture of appearance then spread from the courtly sphere to the domestic sphere, gradually spreading throughout urban society. A common typology of clothing and fashion accessories soon spread to all social classes. Whether rhetorical or aesthetic, these weapons of seduction served the spirit of an elitist society where romantic, political, and religious issues intertwined.
Class differentiation was then manifested through the use of very precious materials and the creation of objects of the greatest refinement that would allow the highest classes to continue to distinguish themselves. The catalog brings together around a hundred objects of the greatest refinement presented in a journey that showcases them from head to toe. From wigs to shoes, including makeup and perfume, lace, embroidery, jewelry, and pocket gallantry objects.
These objects come from the collections of the MAD, the museum of the Palace of Versailles and Trianon, the National Renaissance Museum of Ecouen, the Fragonard Perfume Museum, the Watchmaking Museum in Morteau, the Museum of Fine Arts and Lace of Alençon and several private and corporate collections.
This construction of appearance required knowledge of customs and rules and compliance with them to benefit from royal favor and to attest to one's social identity. The body was adorned with various artifices: wigs, makeup, jewelry, perfumes, lace, and pocket and gallantry objects. These fashion and beauty accessories were adopted by the French aristocracy and visitors to the French court under the Ancien Régime, who competed in audacity and refinement in the choice of adornments.
The aristocracy, following the king, was keen to mark its rank and uniqueness by adopting a veritable dress code that allowed it to signal its sociological status to the outside world. Costumes were complemented by various finery: embroidery, lace, and ribbons that vied with sophistication and refinement. Combining finesse of wit and sophistication, fashion accessories, beauty products, and the art of perfume exalted this delicate quest of 18th-century women and men.
This culture of appearances is accompanied by perfect self-control and facial expressions: makeup, powders, beauty spots, and perfumes contribute to a monotony of appearance. It is important to let nothing show in this race for royal favor. The imperative of seduction is part of a double dialectic: a mimicry towards the king and power and a need to free oneself from them in order to be noticed and better reveal one's social status.
Thus, at the end of the 17th century, then in the 18th century, an interest developed in pocket gallantry, which brought together small precious objects, snuff boxes, fans, notebooks, etc., which one carried on oneself and which could be real little jewels or works of art. This court culture gradually transformed in the 18th century. Fashion, hygiene practices and beauty criteria evolved. While wigs and makeup persisted, they faded to give way to naturalness, of which the court nevertheless appeared as the antithesis, lacking sincerity and transparency.
This culture of appearance then spread from the courtly sphere to the domestic sphere, gradually spreading throughout urban society. A common typology of clothing and fashion accessories soon spread to all social classes. Whether rhetorical or aesthetic, these weapons of seduction served the spirit of an elitist society where romantic, political, and religious issues intertwined.
Class differentiation was then manifested through the use of very precious materials and the creation of objects of the greatest refinement that would allow the highest classes to continue to distinguish themselves. The catalog brings together around a hundred objects of the greatest refinement presented in a journey that showcases them from head to toe. From wigs to shoes, including makeup and perfume, lace, embroidery, jewelry, and pocket gallantry objects.
These objects come from the collections of the MAD, the museum of the Palace of Versailles and Trianon, the National Renaissance Museum of Ecouen, the Fragonard Perfume Museum, the Watchmaking Museum in Morteau, the Museum of Fine Arts and Lace of Alençon and several private and corporate collections.
This construction of appearance required knowledge of customs and rules and compliance with them to benefit from royal favor and to attest to one's social identity. The body was adorned with various artifices: wigs, makeup, jewelry, perfumes, lace, and pocket and gallantry objects. These fashion and beauty accessories were adopted by the French aristocracy and visitors to the French court under the Ancien Régime, who competed in audacity and refinement in the choice of adornments.
The aristocracy, following the king, was keen to mark its rank and uniqueness by adopting a veritable dress code that allowed it to signal its sociological status to the outside world. Costumes were complemented by various finery: embroidery, lace, and ribbons that vied with sophistication and refinement. Combining finesse of wit and sophistication, fashion accessories, beauty products, and the art of perfume exalted this delicate quest of 18th-century women and men.
This culture of appearances is accompanied by perfect self-control and facial expressions: makeup, powders, beauty spots, and perfumes contribute to a monotony of appearance. It is important to let nothing show in this race for royal favor. The imperative of seduction is part of a double dialectic: a mimicry towards the king and power and a need to free oneself from them in order to be noticed and better reveal one's social status.
Thus, at the end of the 17th century, then in the 18th century, an interest developed in pocket gallantry, which brought together small precious objects, snuff boxes, fans, notebooks, etc., which one carried on oneself and which could be real little jewels or works of art. This court culture gradually transformed in the 18th century. Fashion, hygiene practices and beauty criteria evolved. While wigs and makeup persisted, they faded to give way to naturalness, of which the court nevertheless appeared as the antithesis, lacking sincerity and transparency.
This culture of appearance then spread from the courtly sphere to the domestic sphere, gradually spreading throughout urban society. A common typology of clothing and fashion accessories soon spread to all social classes. Whether rhetorical or aesthetic, these weapons of seduction served the spirit of an elitist society where romantic, political, and religious issues intertwined.
Class differentiation was then manifested through the use of very precious materials and the creation of objects of the greatest refinement that would allow the highest classes to continue to distinguish themselves. The catalog brings together around a hundred objects of the greatest refinement presented in a journey that showcases them from head to toe. From wigs to shoes, including makeup and perfume, lace, embroidery, jewelry, and pocket gallantry objects.
These objects come from the collections of the MAD, the museum of the Palace of Versailles and Trianon, the National Renaissance Museum of Ecouen, the Fragonard Perfume Museum, the Watchmaking Museum in Morteau, the Museum of Fine Arts and Lace of Alençon and several private and corporate collections.