Vier opgetooide hoofden van dames 1775 - 1840

Ernst Ludwig Riepenhausen made this print, "Four Adorned Heads of Ladies," using etching techniques. The artist depicts the heads of four women with elaborate hairstyles and headwear. Their features are rendered with delicate lines, which was a way of illustrating archetypes of beauty, class and taste in late 18th century Germany. The emphasis on fashionable adornment in Riepenhausen’s work reflects the importance of social status and appearance in European society at the time. Prints such as this, circulated widely and were consumed by a growing middle class. They were produced at a time in which academies were codifying standards of taste, and the public was developing an appetite for art and culture. To understand this image better, we might look at fashion plates and conduct a study of the illustrated press, as well as the history of academic art. Appreciating art always involves understanding its social and institutional context.