Coiffures, Poufs, Hats and Bonnets: Eleven Coiffures and Headdresses 1781
Dimensions height 279 mm, width 220 mm
This engraving by Nicolas Dupin, dating back to the 18th century, showcases a study in coiffures and headdresses. The print, delicate in its rendering, immediately draws attention to the elaborate hairstyle, its towering form framed by a simple circular border within a rectangular plane. Dupin's work here is a study in contrasts. The soft pastel hues of pink and blue in the sitter's dress are juxtaposed with the structured complexity of the hair. The coiffure, with its rolled and styled tresses, defies natural form, transforming hair into an architectural statement. Consider the tension between the intimate portraiture and the almost abstract arrangement of shapes, lines and forms. The circular frame isolates and elevates this constructed image, turning it into a spectacle. Dupin invites us to consider how meaning is created through artifice, challenging conventional ideas of beauty. Is the art of making oneself up creating something fresh or obscuring an existing meaning? It’s up to us to decide.
Comments
Ladies’ hairstyles were ingenious works of art, built around a core of cushions and horsehair. Hair was piled high in curls and twists (chignons) and adorned with feathers, ribbons, artificial flowers, tulle and jewels to create various fancifully named poufs. Because the hair was dressed using animal fat and powdered with wheat flour, these poufs attracted all manner of insects. Far from hygienic, they moreover did not last long. When they went out, ladies protected their hairdos with a voluminous ribbed hood called a calèche 1. Hairdressers of the time, who styled themselves as artists, used prints to advertise their latest creations and craftsmanship 2 3.
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