Impressionism, Fashion & Modernity, Chicago….

Before our evening flight back to Seattle, we had time for a leisurely visit to the Art Institute of Chicago, a perfect excursion for a rainy Sunday. I was thrilled to be able to catch this exhibit prior to it’s closure September 29 and {double bonus!} since the word “fashion” was included in the title, my daughter was quite excited to come along. Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity is an interesting look at how the Impressionists assisted in catapulting fashion forward in the late 19th century, a time when department stores, fashion magazines and ready~to~wear clothing, or prêt a porter, first came on the scene in Paris, making fashionable clothing accessible to a broader audience. The actresses, courtesans and shop girls who modeled for the painters of the period were the original fashionistas, and some of their daring poses are still influencing the fashion world today.

Before we even stepped into the exhibit, which is ending it’s world tour in Chicago {it was previously at the Met in NY and at the Musée D’ Orsay, Paris} I was in awe of the depth of Impressionist Paintings they have in the permanent collection. If you love the Impressionists as much as I do, The Art Institute of Chicago is worth a visit any day of the year. There is nothing like having the chance to study the colors and brushstrokes of these original paintings, like Two Sisters, by Renoir. This has always been one of my favorites, maybe because my grandmother used to have a copy of it in her bedroom and I remember her telling me that the painting reminded her of my mother and me.

…from this painting by Claude Monet of his mistress Camille Doncieux. As you may imagine, Camille, nor Claude, were likely to have had enough francs to purchase a fine frock like this in that day. Where the dress came from is a studied mystery, was it borrowed? Or was it a robe mi~confectionné {ready~made} from one of the new grandes magasins {department stores} in Paris?

We may never know, but what was especially unique about this painting, is the fact that Camille has her back turned to us. Prior to this, most paintings were of higher class women who were perfectly dressed, posed and poised, and facing the artist. They were not as casual looking as Camille is here, this look also conveys a sense of movement and spontaneity, much more like the modern day photo~shoot than the traditional, stately portraiture that was more common during this period.

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Here’s Kate striking a similar pose of nonchalance.

The Parisienne, a painting by Édouard Manet was an early recording of “The new Parisienne {who} was a woman of fashion who might also be a woman of the world, she might be a member of la grande bourgeoisie, an actress, or kept woman. Regardless of her position, she was always turned out in a correct and flattering manner ~ From Nina de Callias to Valtesse de La Bigne and Méry Laurent, Parisiennes were fashionable, chic, and beautiful women who moved freely in the artistic circles of Paris”.

Here is another piece that captures this changing period for women and fashion in Paris, this woman appears to be reading a fashion magazine while sitting at an outdoor brasserie, perhaps drinking a beer in public, while wearing traditional street dress, matching hat and kid gloves.

As the book titles it, during this period there were often occasions when “Fashion Takes a Vacation”. To emphasize this, the room where we viewed the display “Fashion en Plein Air” had green astro turf on the floor and park benches were positioned about the room. In Luncheon on the Grass Monet shows a common picnic scene, but with an high level of detail and emphasis on the modern day fashions and how they were worn by both the men and women. In contrast, notice the low level of definition given to the foods in the foreground.

Nature continues to be the most sublime backdrop for fashion.

Woman at Her Toilette, by Berthe Morisot, is an example of another trend the Impressionists revealed, the revealing of women’s undergarments. Paintings of women, coquettishly posing in their corsets was at first considered scandalous and an “outrage to morality” by many. But with time, it increased the popularity of the corset, the majority of which were originally made of simple cotton twill. As the women in these paintings began posing in colored corsets or corsets made of silk and trimmed in lace and ribbons, the fashionable women of Paris began demanding such corsets as well.

The material girl took this revealed corset~concept to a whole new level.

In this larger~than~life sized painting, called Jeune Femme or Young Lady in 1866, again, Manet is shockingly suggestive. Rather than posing in a proper day dress, this subject is wearing a peignoir, or dressing gown. A peignoir was something a woman would wear at home, and only her family members or staff would ever see her in such a sensuous salmon colored silk gown. In the full painting it’s apparent that Victorine Meurent is not relaxing in her private quarters. Her expression is boldly coy and in her left hand she is fingering man’s monocle, in her right hand is a nosegay made of violets, suggesting that the flowers were given to her by the owner of the monocle, all are hints that a male was improperly present.