Style And Grace 

Emile Vernon painted 'Style and Grace' with oil on canvas, a very traditional medium, but the image also speaks to the changing social status of women during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Consider the materiality of the scene: the delicate porcelain teaware, the soft fabric of the gloves, the ornate details of her fashionable attire. All of this is rendered with precise brushwork. Vernon was clearly skilled in capturing the textures and surfaces of these objects. It's not just about showing wealth, it's also about celebrating the increasing access to consumer goods and leisure activities, especially for middle-class women. The way the tea set is painted, with its intricate patterns and glossy surface, reflects the rise of industrial production and global trade that made such luxury items more widely available. But it also represents a certain lifestyle, and it reinforces the idea of women as consumers and homemakers, not laborers or makers themselves. So, when we look at paintings like 'Style and Grace', it's important to think about how materials, making, and social context come together to create meaning, challenging our understanding of art history and the changing role of women in society.