Evening (The Ball) 1833

Curator: Just look at the incredible detail in this lithograph, "Evening (The Ball)" by Pierre Louis Henri Grévedon. It resides here at the Harvard Art Museums. What are your first thoughts? Editor: The softness is striking. The textures—her dress, the flowers—they all convey a kind of delicate opulence, don't they? Curator: Indeed. I see a careful commentary on the construction of femininity in 19th-century high society. The corsetry, the flowers… it all speaks volumes about constraints and ideals. Editor: I'm intrigued by how Grévedon used lithography to capture those textures. The labor behind such intricate detail really highlights the material value placed on these images of women. Curator: It certainly prompts us to consider the layers of representation and the social forces shaping our perceptions of women, even now. Editor: It's a potent reminder of the ongoing dialogue between art, society, and the objectification of labor and beauty.