Two Costume Designs or Portrait Types 1785 - 1790

Curator: What an absurd sense of giddy charm! Looking at it makes me imagine whispered secrets in a moonlit garden, a forgotten silk scarf fluttering on the breeze. Editor: Indeed! This lovely work, titled "Two Costume Designs or Portrait Types," dates back to between 1785 and 1790. Its artist remains anonymous, which presents its own interesting challenges. Curator: Challenges and tantalizing mystery. I can already smell the lead paint and rosewater just gazing at these two high-haired characters. Their absurd poufs are amazing; they must have spent hours and hours. Editor: They are delightful representations of late Rococo fashion, wouldn’t you agree? Created with a combination of drawing, watercolour and coloured pencil on what seems to be laid paper, this piece offers insight into the period's fascination with artifice and display. Costume and self-presentation are so connected here. Curator: Precisely. Notice how their costumes position these subjects into idealized, rather ethereal women through pastel shades and soft brushstrokes? They give off a "let them eat cake" vibe, don't they? It hints at a sort of…removed elite, disconnected from any tangible reality. The almost comical emphasis on the wigs screams privilege. Editor: I find it compelling that these are simultaneously portraits and costume studies. Consider what it says about individual identity when its outward expression can be designed. Or consider how they use historical and art references to convey their meanings to a knowing audience. What statement is made when fashion literally becomes an artistic study? Curator: It’s absolutely performative identity! I keep coming back to those glorious wigs. They're architectural follies and signs of a society poised to tumble into revolution! There’s a beautiful decadence here. Editor: So as we prepare to leave these fascinating sitters and their elaborate wardrobes, what remains with you from this brief moment? Curator: I think, for me, the artwork highlights how objects speak louder and with perhaps, with as much if not more potency than any verbal statement. Editor: And I am left pondering how images capture our collective anxieties, even in seemingly frivolous representations of the high court and costumery.