Presented at the Musée Cognacq-Jay in collaboration with the Palais Galliera, the exhibition “Revealing Femininity: Fashion and Appearances in the 18th Century” offers an immersive journey into the fascinating world of femininity during the Age of Enlightenment.
Portraits, scenes of courtship, and historic textiles come together to explore the diverse representations of femininity found in 18th-century settings. The exhibition highlights the rise of a French style whose elegance captivated European courts and aristocracy, revealing a history of dress rooted both in material reality and the imagination. At the heart of this era, France established itself as the unrivalled stage for refinement and prestige. Artists such as Maurice Quentin de La Tour, Jean-Marc Nattier, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, and Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun excelled at capturing both the lustre of fabrics and the depth of the soul, lending their subjects an aura of grace and power. Showcasing these masterful works, the exhibition also features portraits marked by a new psychological dimension in which intimacy and naturalness take centre stage under English influence. Meanwhile, François Boucher’s pastoral scenes and Antoine Watteau’s fêtes galantes shape an idealised, poetic vision of femininity. Finally, contemporary photographs by Steven Meisel, Esther Ségal, and Valérie Belin, along with a Chanel creation by Karl Lagerfeld, provide a counterpoint that invites reflection on the enduring influence of these codes and the legacy of the 18th century in contemporary fashion, poised between social expectations and imagined ideals of beauty.
Admission: €0 to €11.
Source: paris.fr — photo: Musée Cognacq-Jay