Les Mariées selon la Coutume 1775 - 1785

Curator: We're standing before "Les Mariées selon la Coutume," or "The Brides according to Custom," an engraving created by Louise Gaillard between 1775 and 1785. Editor: Well, isn't this charming...in a totally exaggerated way? The first thing that leaps out is the sheer volume of that dress. She looks like she's smuggling a small country under all those ruffles! Curator: Precisely! The engraving plays with Rococo sensibilities and its societal constructs around marriage. Look at how the emphasis on costume satirizes arranged matches and women reduced to decorative objects. Editor: It’s as if she’s weighed down, not just by the dress itself, but the expectation, right? And the groom's got that 'please, just get it over with' air about him, even though their hands are linked. Those roses scattered at her feet like so much discarded love? It's delicious! Curator: Let's also think about how gender and social mobility intersected. During this period, the French Aristocracy found its wealth rapidly changing due to emergent Capitalism, with many looking to older conventions of courtship to maintain control. This artwork's critique can also been as a means of the popular imaginary to wrestle control from the elite. Editor: Control and loss thereof! Imagine the conversations those costumes triggered – power dynamics stitched into every seam. Did that collar need to be *quite* so high? You know what they say "the higher the hair, the closer to God." That coiffure says, "I have options!". Curator: It’s fascinating how seemingly light-hearted caricatures often contain serious commentary on socio-political tensions, right? "The Brides according to Custom" reflects not just personal relationships, but larger power struggles of its time. Editor: Right, so a wedding, not just as the union of two hearts, but also an arena, in its own bizarrely elegant way. Thanks Louise, this has me re-thinking my aversion to puffy sleeves. Curator: Indeed, it highlights art’s capacity to mirror and critique societal expectations. Food for thought for our contemporary world, where the performances surrounding love and relationships are often no less elaborate or political.