Figures à la mode, no. 8: twee vrouwen met zonnehoeden, staand bij een muurtje 1670 - 1685

Editor: This is "Figures à la mode, no. 8: twee vrouwen met zonnehoeden, staand bij een muurtje," made between 1670 and 1685 by Romeyn de Hooghe. It’s an engraving. The first thing I notice is how the artist captured these fashionable women. They almost seem to be posing. What catches your eye in this print? Curator: Well, it whispers to me of powdered wigs and secret rendezvous! De Hooghe’s print feels like a snapshot of a fleeting moment, doesn't it? He's not just showing us clothes, but offering a peek into the lives of these women. I’m thinking about the little narratives humming beneath the surface – the garden wall that creates a physical barrier for sure, but maybe even hinting at social divides, with these elegant women kept, just so, apart from everyone else. What do you make of the one woman pointing, and what's on the other side of the fence? Editor: That’s interesting. It almost looks like she is making a secret rendezvous. Is this a usual theme for the time, showing the more hidden aspects of everyday life? Curator: That’s the beauty of genre scenes like this. De Hooghe winks at us, doesn’t he? Instead of grand battles or stiff portraits, we have life caught unawares, rendered with such delicate detail. I'd wonder what the fashions being portrayed really meant. Editor: It's like eavesdropping on a moment in history, fashionably attired. Thanks, that helped me to look deeper into the everyday aspects of life at the time. Curator: Exactly! Art invites us to look, to linger, and to live a little in someone else's fashionable shoes.