Journal des Demoiselles et Petit Courrier des Dames Réunis, Novembre 1873, No. 3916 : Etoffes des Magasins (...) 1873

Curator: This print, entitled "Journal des Demoiselles et Petit Courrier des Dames Réunis," dates to November 1873 and is credited to Paul Lacourière. It's a fascinating example of a fashion plate from that era, combining drawing and mixed-media techniques. Editor: It has an airy, almost fragile quality. The pastel shades, the delicate linework, and the soft rendering of the figures... It all seems to evoke a sense of gentle refinement, yet I sense there is the labor beneath the fabric. Curator: Precisely. The composition leads the eye through layers of constructed appearances. We begin with the woman seated in a blue dress on the left. Consider how the horizontal lines of her tiered skirt juxtapose with the verticality of her posture and the implied social expectations. The shapes and form demonstrate the complex societal constraints around women during the 19th Century. Editor: Looking closer, it’s amazing to consider the work that goes into rendering textiles like this through printmaking! I can see the fine details in the rendering of lace, the folds in the dress. You can feel the weight of material, each carefully reproduced to attract consumers. Who exactly labored over it and where? How long did it take? Curator: That tension between art and industry, the ideal and the real, is certainly central. But on top of this we also notice how carefully structured everything is. Notice the mirroring effects within each of the main dresses. Editor: Yes, and the way the inclusion of a child really hammers home the idea of transmitting particular gendered social values over time and across generations. It makes me wonder about the relationship to this image, consumption habits and social value. What was this intended to do, to sell to the reader of the journal, what value does fashion add and extract to that same reader? Curator: Such context brings nuance, though I maintain, from a purely structural perspective, the print’s masterful use of line and color warrants consideration for its aesthetic qualities as well. Editor: Absolutely. We need to interrogate that aesthetic and consider the materiality. Understanding production, use and disposal brings the images and object closer to a tangible lived reality for women beyond the page. Curator: A perfect summation; a meeting of form and context revealing new textures within the print. Editor: Indeed, a valuable perspective illuminating the complexities within.