La Toilette 

Henri Gervex painted this oil on canvas of a woman in her boudoir during the late 19th or early 20th century. Gervex, as a painter of Parisian life, was inevitably confronted with the societal expectations of women during the Belle Époque, a time of supposed peace and prosperity in Europe, yet which, in truth, was fraught with rigid class and gender boundaries. In *La Toilette*, the woman's intimate moment of dressing becomes a public display. Is this an act of empowerment or of commodification? The woman is caught in a liminal space, halfway between private and public selves. Her gaze is directed away, perhaps to avoid the knowing gaze of the viewer, or is it because of the societal pressures which dictated her behavior? This painting makes us consider the delicate balance between intimacy and exposure, reflecting the complex societal pressures women faced and continue to face, in navigating their identities.