Minneapolis Institute of Art

Fashion plate from Journal de la Mode et du Goût, Dix-neuvième Cahier, 25 Août 1790

Author: Jean-Antoine Lebrun-Tossa; Publisher: François Buisson

Date

August 25, 1790

Medium

Hand-colored engraving

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

These women address one another from opposite sides of a partisan divide. The woman on the right is dressed for revolution with a utilitarian hat, prominent cockade, and natural, unpowdered hair. Her tricolor riding habit closely parallels men’s contemporary military dress. The magazine even refers to her ensemble as a “uniform, ” acknowledging women’s active involvement in the revolutionary movement. She points accusingly to a woman who clings to the past with her powdered coiffure and formal silk gown. But both exploit color symbolism: from head to toe the revolutionary commits to the national colors, while the other chooses yellow and purple: both counterrevolutionary symbols. Purple traditionally represented royalty, while yellow and black were the national colors of Austria, Queen Marie Antoinette’s homeland. The traditionalist’s feathered headdress— reminiscent of a crown—leaves no doubt about her political orientation. France, Europe

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