Femme de qualité en deshabille d'esté c. 1680 - 1690

This print, by an anonymous artist, shows us a woman of quality in her summer undress. It’s made using etching, a printmaking technique that involves biting lines into a metal plate with acid, and then inking the plate to make an impression on paper. The dense web of lines not only defines the woman’s form but also conveys a sense of texture and material. Look at the way the fabric of her dress drapes and folds. Consider the lace trim, painstakingly rendered with fine lines. The coloring would have been added afterward, each print meticulously finished by hand. While the print itself is relatively modest in scale, it speaks to larger issues of labor and consumption. The creation of such an image demanded skilled craftsmanship, from the etcher’s mastery of the burin to the colorist’s delicate touch. And of course, the woman's elaborate costume, down to the fan she delicately holds, hints at the vast system of production and trade that sustained elite lifestyles. It reminds us that even seemingly simple images can be windows onto complex social and economic realities.