Wedding Dress c. 1936

Lillian Causey made this watercolor painting, “Wedding Dress,” and the brushstrokes are so delicate they almost dissolve the dresses, like a memory. I imagine Causey, with her precise yet gentle hand, thinking about the particular sheen of satin, how the light would catch the curves and folds of the fabric. I get the sense that she wanted to capture the ephemeral, fleeting nature of beauty and the excitement of the ceremony. Notice how the waist of the left dress cinches just so with these thin ropes, like a present being tied with a bow. The muted grays and whites give the painting a sense of timelessness, as if these dresses could exist in any era. The translucence of the watercolor allows the light to penetrate the paper, creating a luminous effect. I love the little bobbles around the neckline of the right dress, like pearls floating on water. It makes me think of other painters like John Singer Sargent, with the play of light on fabric. And the dress on the left reminds me of the dresses in the paintings of Marie Laurencin, or maybe even Gustave Moreau.