A Young Lady in a Yellow Gown with Blue Ribbons c. 1767

Curator: This is Jean-Baptiste Perronneau’s “A Young Lady in a Yellow Gown with Blue Ribbons,” a pastel portrait from around 1767. It’s just striking, isn’t it? Editor: Absolutely! There’s a kind of wistful charm, a delicate balance between formality and an almost unguarded sweetness. The colours are so soft. Curator: Perronneau was, of course, working in the rococo style, which valued elegance and ornamentation, but it seems that he infused it with a disarming directness. You get a real sense of her personhood, don’t you think? What could those ribbons, flowers, or gown suggest about feminine identity then? Editor: Rococo certainly offered visual codes for the aristocratic milieu. Those pastel hues—the rose and the baby blue especially—were very fashionable and signalled luxury. At the time, France’s socio-political fabric was becoming quite strained and yet portraiture demanded adherence to certain visual rules that maintained status. There’s also that incredible focus on the face that makes the material world somewhat of an accessory to beauty and taste. Curator: Exactly! Think about the enduring power of flowers in art! Here, that small rose could symbolize fleeting beauty and nascent womanhood, reflecting not just her youth but societal expectations of women. What are the burdens women were required to uphold? What does beauty become then? A commodity? A cultural emblem? It opens up into a web of signifiers... Editor: I’d add that artists like Perronneau gained increasing status and freedom throughout the 18th century. Patronage opened up avenues for him to define beauty within parameters set by figures with a certain amount of socio-economic control, namely the court and upper class. And yet her knowing but gentle smile also seems slightly defiant! Perhaps he afforded her more than just ornamentation… Curator: Perhaps! So, despite working within constraints, Perronneau imbued this young lady with such a compelling presence, one that makes us reflect on societal pressures but also on this captivating face… Editor: Yes, it’s this enduring tension that continues to resonate with us, offering a unique snapshot of that pivotal moment in art history and the role of visual portraiture as it pertained to identity.