Franse dame reagerend op het edict van 1633 1633 - 1670

This is Grégoire Huret’s etching, “Franse dame reagerend op het edict van 1633,” created sometime between 1606 and 1670. The print captures a moment of personal defiance against state control. In 1633, France’s King Louis XIII issued an edict banning lace, in an attempt to protect the French silk industry and curb excessive spending on foreign luxury items. Huret's image shows a fashionable French woman reacting to the edict by concealing lace in a chest, and on a seat behind her. Her gesture is both subversive and poignant. The act of hiding such finery suggests the personal and economic impact of the edict, especially for women whose identities and livelihoods were often intertwined with fashion and textiles. The etching subtly critiques the intersection of gender, economics, and state power, revealing how personal choices could become politicized under authoritarian regimes. The emotional resonance lies in the woman’s quiet act of resistance, highlighting the tensions between individual expression and governmental policy.