Toilet van Venus c. 1788

Curator: Here we have an engraving, a print called “Toilet of Venus” made around 1788, in the style of Neoclassicism by Jacques Bouillard. Editor: Venus is captured from the back, mostly nude save for some draping, almost self-consciously adjusting her hair… there’s an air of demureness to the eroticism. It’s so stylized, clean lines... what does this image tap into? Curator: Bouillard’s engraving pulls from familiar wells: classical mythology, the nude female form… the "toilette" was a popular genre, domestic and intimate moments, especially of women and, most especially, goddesses at their toilette... like so many Pygmalion works through time, this piece represents an ongoing dialogue of the artist who seeks to bring something beautiful into existence… it captures how ideals were interpreted and disseminated through printed images in the late 18th century, romantic and historical. Editor: I think that demure quality of the nudity, it says something about the evolving views on sexuality in art and broader culture. A painting, printed—distributed… in an age just on the brink of full mechanization… this piece is part of a wider change of perception, from one-off artistic vision towards reproducible and repeatable. Curator: Right, the printing press democratized images, taking them from elite circles and putting them into wider circulation. This particular portrayal of Venus and this format also recalls idealized feminine beauty through ancient sculptures. Think about that ripple of influence! Editor: Seeing it now I’m intrigued by the fact that while claiming the lineage of ancient goddesses, its availability relies on almost industrialized technologies… Curator: Absolutely. It's a really potent collision of the ancient and modern, the ideal and the reproducible, reflecting a society on the cusp of profound change, caught in an engraving. Editor: An unexpectedly layered image! It gives so much to think about.