Le Monument du Costume, Jean Charles Baquoy, after Jean Michel Moreau, 1776

etching, h 410mm × w 320mm More details

This series of plates centres on the fashion, interiors and etiquette of the wealthy French elite around 1776. We follow a young lady du bon ton (of good taste) from the time of her pregnancy until her return to society life. At home, she is shown in a negligée 1 2 3. For a horseback ride in the Bois de Boulogne, she chooses an Amazonian riding outfit 4, and when paying a visit to Marly, the king’s country residence, she dons a robe à la polonaise 5. The opera demands a robe à la française, with a skirt so wide that she can pass through doorways only sideways 6.