Portret van Madame Nolté 1830

Henri Grevedon made this portrait of Madame Nolté as a lithograph sometime in the first half of the 19th century. The print is a product of its time, reflecting the rise of the middle class in Europe and their desire for portraiture, which had previously been a privilege of the aristocracy. The print itself, as a relatively inexpensive medium, democratized image-making. We can see that Madame Nolté is wealthy from the details of the lithograph. The large bow in her hair, her dress with puffed sleeves and flower detail, and her jewelry were all part of the visual codes of feminine identity and social class. This print served as a way for Madame Nolté and others to make their mark on society. To better understand Grevedon’s lithograph, we can look at the history of fashion, the rise of the print market, and the changing status of women in 19th-century France. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.