Le Journal des Fiancés, 1860-1861, No. 861 : Livres de Mariag (...) c. 1860 - 1861

Curator: Look at the sheer volume of fabric! It feels as though the dresses could consume these women. Editor: Indeed. This lithograph, dating from around 1860 to 1861, is entitled *Le Journal des Fiancés, 1860-1861, No. 861 : Livres de Mariage (...)*, by Laurent François Guerdet. It depicts two women attired in the fashion of the time. The print, typical of romanticism, showcases the aspirational elegance sought by the rising bourgeoisie in the mid-19th century. Curator: The visual contrast between the almost aggressively ornamented dress on the left, against the softer, patterned dress on the right, really jumps out. What do you make of the way their clothing and poses might suggest distinct social roles or even, perhaps, individual choices available to women? Editor: I see it more as reflecting prevailing social dictates for the fashionably dressed woman, with the dresses and accessories reinforcing an image of decorum and bourgeois stability. This image reflects how marriage, the ultimate social institution, was being commodified, even used to fuel consumerism and market capitalism. Curator: I find the lack of depth quite striking. The women seem pasted onto the backdrop, reinforcing, for me, the artificiality of the presentation, a commentary on the constricted performance of femininity expected at the time. Editor: The lithographic technique lends itself to that flatness. The very creation of prints like these supported a growing industry targeting women with limited, though increasing, power. *Le Journal des Fiancés* itself functioned as a manual to help secure that power, namely, to get married. Curator: It does leave you pondering on the implications embedded in something as seemingly innocuous as a fashion print. Editor: Precisely. And considering that historical trajectory certainly enriches our reading of it now.