Groupe d’hommes et femme élégante 1895 - 1905

Frédéric Houbron sketched "Groupe d’hommes et femme élégante" in the late 19th century. Houbron was a product of France's societal fixation with class, and his quick sketch highlights the rigid social structures which informed Parisian life. Through the lens of gender and class, the drawing offers a glimpse into the performance of bourgeois identity. We see the fashionable attire of the time: men in hats and tailored coats and a woman adorned with an elaborate feathered hat and draped in a long coat. The very act of observing and sketching such a group speaks to Houbron’s position within this social milieu, both a part of it and separate as an artist. The sketch emphasizes the superficiality and constructed nature of social identity. The figures are seen but not known; their essence is their display of wealth and status. The facelessness of the figures asks us to consider how social roles and expectations can obscure individual identity. It’s an almost melancholic reflection on the fleeting nature of social appearances and the human desire for belonging.