A Young Woman Looking in a Mirror 1742 - 1743

Nicolas Lancret created this red chalk drawing, titled "A Young Woman Looking in a Mirror," in the early 18th century. Lancret was a painter of fêtes galantes, a genre that depicts the outdoor amusements of French upper-class society. Here, the subject is a woman in a billowing dress, bending forward to peer into a mirror. The drawing gives us a glimpse into the toilette of an aristocratic woman, who would have been expected to cultivate beauty and charm. Yet this is no formal portrait. There is a vulnerability to this sketch, a sense of intimacy in the woman's private moment of self-reflection. Lancret captures her in a fleeting, unposed attitude. She doesn't stare out at us, but is instead focused on her own image. It's as if we've stumbled upon a secret moment. The drawing encourages us to consider the complex relationship between identity, appearance, and self-perception in the context of 18th-century French society.