Gallerie des Modes c. 1784

Curator: "Gallerie des Modes," dating from around 1784. We're looking at an elegant figure captured in watercolor by Nicolas Dupin, a testament to the era's fascination with fashion and social presentation. It resides here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Isn't it wonderfully weird? Her posture is so rigid and almost doll-like, yet the color palette is surprisingly soft and muted. I can’t help but smile! There is a certain gentleness, a touch of satire, maybe? Curator: The satire lies in the exaggerated silhouette, conforming to then-contemporary standards of beauty, which privileged artifice and overt display of status. That's reflected in that gravity-defying headwear. What do you read into her turned back? Editor: Oh, I think that turned back only adds to the humor. Like she's about to step into some grand misunderstanding! And the textures – all that frill – feel opulent and restrained. The cane just seems to add to a sort of, what would you say? Distant air? Curator: Certainly, these details reflect the hierarchical structures of 18th-century French society. Fashion was rigorously dictated, class-stratified, and gendered. This lady is signaling her adherence to, or perhaps, her subversion of those rules. It also alludes to a larger conversation on colonial trade through textiles and accessories. Editor: So much weight in a little sketch. And even though it feels incredibly detached from today's fashion scene, I love seeing the small similarities. In what the artist captures as precious. What do you suppose someone from that time seeing something similar today, even only through the internet, would feel? Curator: I would guess perhaps something akin to recognizing echoes of our past, yet viewing through the ever-present gaze of contemporary social structures and historical awareness. Editor: Yes! Even just to notice all these complex undertones swirling beneath something so seemingly frivolous. This piece makes me think differently, for sure. Curator: Indeed. It’s a reminder that even seemingly superficial aspects of culture are deeply intertwined with socio-political forces.