Standing Woman Facing Right 1700 - 1743

Nicolas Lancret created this red chalk drawing, "Standing Woman Facing Right," sometime in the early 18th century. Lancret lived during the French Régence, a brief but transformative period when the aristocracy, freed from the rigid constraints of Louis XIV's court, embraced a more relaxed and sensual lifestyle. Lancret, known for his depictions of fêtes galantes, or elegant outdoor entertainments, here sketches a woman who embodies the era's fashionable ideal. Her elaborate gown, with its voluminous folds and delicate lace, speaks of wealth and status. Yet, her downcast gaze hints at the complex social expectations placed upon women of the aristocracy. Was her identity confined to the display of finery and decorum? This drawing invites us to consider the limitations and possibilities within the lives of women in the French court and the ways in which artists like Lancret both reflected and shaped those realities. We are left to ponder the inner life of this woman, caught between the opulence of her surroundings and the constraints of her social role.