Her mother thought this painting much more appropriate and even stated that it was “one of the most true-to-life images she had yet seen of her daughter.” The dauphine was shown in this hunting attire from the waist up, wearing a black three corner hat and yellow kidskin gloves. It was painted by Joseph Kreutzinger and in it Marie Antoinette wore an “androgynous red justaucorps,” a long, knee-length coat worn by men throughout the 18th century that was introduced in England as a component of a three-piece ensemble, also consisting of breeches and a long vest or waistcoat. In 1771, another picture painted of Marie Antoinette was painted shortly after the one painted for her mother. Riding astride, it was believed, represented both an affront to common decency and a threat to a woman’s reproductive health.” Even worse, breeches made it far too easy for their wearers to straddle horses, whereas riding sidesaddle was … the norm for ladies in most European countries. … Arbiters of feminine conduct disapproved of breeches because they ‘permitted women to assume the poses and gestures of men, to wager, stride, swing the arms, and put hands on hips. And breeches worn without the supplementary cover of petticoats and skirts were far from common when Marie Antoinette adopted the look. “asculine style breeches did not form part of the standard female riding outfit. Moreover, wearing such a garb was considered unacceptable at the time and Caroline Weber in her book, Queen of Fashion, states that in 1771: ![]() The young and rebellious Marie Antoinette wore exactly the opposite. It was executed in France at the request of her mother who wanted a painting of her sixteen-year-old daughter dressed in finery to represent her station in life and not wearing men’s clothing. One painting, that is now lost, was done of the future queen in 1771 and showed her wearing a manly riding garb. She had the same reputation when it came to obeying her mother. Marie Antoinette also came to have a reputation for being a rebel when it came to fashion. Courtesy of Bibliothèque nationale de France. Marie Antoinette’s marriage to the Dauphin. ![]() “Marie-Antoinette was the first in France to live at a time when pamphlets and newspapers and other forms of print publicity were ready to put the spotlight on public figures – to manufacture news if necessary to satisfy an avid reading public newly introduced to the thrills of court scandals and revolutionary politics … From the moment she arrived in France, Marie Antoinette found herself treading a fine line that crossed two competing spheres of public life: the court at Versailles, the center and epitome of the Old Regime of formality, privilege, show, and duty and a new public sphere of press and public opinion.” As Dena Goodman writes in the introduction of Marie Antoinette: Writings on Body of the Queen: However, because France began to face economic woes, Frenchmen began to think of her as frivolous and immoral and they ultimately came to despise her labeling her “Madame Deficit,” “Madame Veto,” or worse “L’Autrichienne,” the combination of “Austrian” with “Chienne” in reference to a female dog. In the eighteenth century everyone talked about what Marie Antoinette wore and she came to be perceived by the French public as a trendsetter in fashion.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |