Kaleidoscopic Refrains

Has anyone seen the press about the "Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity" exhibit that just opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art? I've read articles about it in the New York Times and Vogue and it looks amazing. Sadly, I think the chances of my actually going are pretty slim. New York is so far away in so many ways right now.

presents a revealing look at the role of fashion in the works of the Impressionists and their contemporaries. Some eighty major figure paintings, seen in concert with period costumes, accessories, fashion plates, photographs, and popular prints, highlight the vital relationship between fashion and art during the pivotal years, from the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s, when Paris emerged as the style capital of the world. With the rise of the department store, the advent of ready-made wear, and the proliferation of fashion magazines, those at the forefront of the avant-garde—from Manet, Monet, and Renoir to Baudelaire, Mallarmé, and Zola—turned a fresh eye to contemporary dress, embracing la mode as the harbinger of la modernité. The novelty, vibrancy, and fleeting allure of the latest trends in fashion proved seductive for a generation of artists and writers who sought to give expression to the pulse of modern life in all its nuanced richness. Without rivaling the meticulous detail of society portraitists such as James Tissot or Alfred Stevens or the graphic flair of fashion plates, the Impressionists nonetheless engaged similar strategies in the making (and in the marketing) of their pictures of stylish men and women that sought to reflect the spirit of their age. - See more at: http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2013/impressionism-fashion-modernity#sthash.euR4bW6R.dpuarticles about it in Vogue and the New York Times. It looks amazing and I so wish I could go, but I think the chances of that happening are sadly slim. New York is just too far away in so many ways right now.

Here's what the MET's website says about the exhibition:

"This stunning survey, anchored by many of the most celebrated works of the impressionist era, illustrates the extent to which artists responded to the dictates of fashion between the 1860's, when admiring critics dubbed Monet's portrait of his future wife "The Green Dress," and the mid-1880's, when Degas capped off his famous series of milliners and Seurat pinpointed the vogue for the emphatic bustle."

"Alongside both masculine and feminine costumes, a full complement of period photographs and illustrations serve to vivify the ongoing dialogue between fashion and art, and afford a sense of the late nineteenth-century Parisian milieu that inspired, provoked, and nurtured the talents - and often the ambitions - of the painters of modern life."

Doesn't that sound fascinating? The New York Times piece is very interesting and includes a slideshow, if you're so inclined. And if anyone gets to see the exhibit, let me know how it was!

This stunning survey, anchored by many of the most celebrated works of the Impressionist era, illustrates the extent to which artists responded to the dictates of fashion between the 1860s, when admiring critics dubbed Monet's portrait of his future wife "The Green Dress," and the mid-1880s, when Degas capped off his famous series of milliners and Seurat pinpointed the vogue for the emphatic bustle.
Highlights of the exhibition include Monet's Luncheon on the Grass (1865–66) and Women in the Garden (1866), Bazille's Family Reunion (1867), Bartholomé's In the Conservatory (circa 1881, paired with the sitter's dress), and fifteen other key loans from the Musée d'Orsay; Monet's Camille (1866) from the Kunsthalle, Bremen, Renoir's Lise (Woman with Umbrella) (1867) from the Museum Folkwang, Essen, and Manet's La Parisienne (circa 1875) from the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, which have never before traveled to the United States; Caillebotte's Paris Street; Rainy Day (1877) and Degas's The Millinery Shop (circa 1882–86) from the Art Institute of Chicago; Renoir's The Loge (1874) from The Courtauld Gallery, London; and Cassatt's In the Loge (1878) from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Alongside both masculine and feminine costumes, a full complement of period photographs and illustrations serve to vivify the ongoing dialogue between fashion and art, and afford a sense of the late nineteenth-century Parisian milieu that inspired, provoked, and nurtured the talents—and often the ambitions—of the painters of modern life.
- See more at: http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2013/impressionism-fashion-modernity/introduction#sthash.hFrexiMG.dpuf

mpressionism, Fashion, and Modernity presents a revealing look at the role of fashion in the works of the Impressionists and their contemporaries. Some eighty major figure paintings, seen in concert with period costumes, accessories, fashion plates, photographs, and popular prints, highlight the vital relationship between fashion and art during the pivotal years, from the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s, when Paris emerged as the style capital of the world. With the rise of the department store, the advent of ready-made wear, and the proliferation of fashion magazines, those at the forefront of the avant-garde—from Manet, Monet, and Renoir to Baudelaire, Mallarmé, and Zola—turned a fresh eye to contemporary dress, embracing la mode as the harbinger of la modernité. The novelty, vibrancy, and fleeting allure of the latest trends in fashion proved seductive for a generation of artists and writers who sought to give expression to the pulse of modern life in all its nuanced richness. Without rivaling the meticulous detail of society portraitists such as James Tissot or Alfred Stevens or the graphic flair of fashion plates, the Impressionists nonetheless engaged similar strategies in the making (and in the marketing) of their pictures of stylish men and women that sought to reflect the spirit of their age - See more at: http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2013/impressionism-fashion-modernity#sthash.C3LCvYSu.dpuf

presents a revealing look at the role of fashion in the works of the Impressionists and their contemporaries. Some eighty major figure paintings, seen in concert with period costumes, accessories, fashion plates, photographs, and popular prints, highlight the vital relationship between fashion and art during the pivotal years, from the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s, when Paris emerged as the style capital of the world. With the rise of the department store, the advent of ready-made wear, and the proliferation of fashion magazines, those at the forefront of the avant-garde—from Manet, Monet, and Renoir to Baudelaire, Mallarmé, and Zola—turned a fresh eye to contemporary dress, embracing la mode as the harbinger of la modernité. The novelty, vibrancy, and fleeting allure of the latest trends in fashion proved seductive for a generation of artists and writers who sought to give expression to the pulse of modern life in all its nuanced richness. Without rivaling the meticulous detail of society portraitists such as James Tissot or Alfred Stevens or the graphic flair of fashion plates, the Impressionists nonetheless engaged similar strategies in the making (and in the marketing) of their pictures of stylish men and women that sought to reflect the spirit of their age - See more at: http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2013/impressionism-fashion-modernity#sthash.euR4bW6R.dpuf

Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity presents a revealing look at the role of fashion in the works of the Impressionists and their contemporaries. Some eighty major figure paintings, seen in concert with period costumes, accessories, fashion plates, photographs, and popular prints, highlight the vital relationship between fashion and art during the pivotal years, from the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s, when Paris emerged as the style capital of the world. With the rise of the department store, the advent of ready-made wear, and the proliferation of fashion magazines, those at the forefront of the avant-garde—from Manet, Monet, and Renoir to Baudelaire, Mallarmé, and Zola—turned a fresh eye to contemporary dress, embracing la mode as the harbinger of la modernité. The novelty, vibrancy, and fleeting allure of the latest trends in fashion proved seductive for a generation of artists and writers who sought to give expression to the pulse of modern life in all its nuanced richness. Without rivaling the meticulous detail of society portraitists such as James Tissot or Alfred Stevens or the graphic flair of fashion plates, the Impressionists nonetheless engaged similar strategies in the making (and in the marketing) of their pictures of stylish men and women that sought to reflect the spirit of their age. - See more at: http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2013/impressionism-fashion-modernity#sthash.euR4bW6R.dpuf