Laure Noël · Albert Editeur, Paris · Imprimerie Leroy, Paris

**Laure Noël (née Colin)** (1827–1878) was a French painter, draughtsman, and fashion illustrator renowned for her delicate hand-colored engravings and watercolors depicting Parisian modes of the mid-nineteenth century. Born Laure Colin in Paris, she came from an artistic family as the daughter of painter Alexandre-Marie Colin and Marie Joseph Juhel. Her sisters, Héloïse Suzanne Leloir-Colin and Adèle Anaïs Toudouze-Colin, were likewise accomplished illustrators of fashion. She married the painter Gustave Noël, further embedding her within artistic circles.

Noël specialized in fashion plates for prominent periodicals, producing elegant, detailed images that captured the evolving styles of women’s clothing, accessories, and social scenes. Her works often appeared as hand-colored steel engravings or lithographs, characterized by precise line work, vibrant yet refined coloring, and an eye for contemporary elegance. Notable examples include plates for *Journal des Modes Spécial pour Couturières* (such as “Le Coquet, No. 22,” published July 1, 1869, by Albert Editeur and printed by Imprimerie Leroy in Paris) and contributions to *Le Journal des Demoiselles* and *Musée des Familles*.

She also created standalone watercolors and illustrations, with some works after earlier masters like Watteau. Active primarily in Paris, Noël’s output reflects the commercial and artistic vitality of the fashion press during the Second Empire and early Third Republic. Her prints were widely disseminated, helping shape public tastes in dress and visual culture.

Today, Noël’s legacy endures through collections at institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum, where her fashion plates serve as valuable records of nineteenth-century style and as examples of skilled female artistry in a male-dominated field. Though her personal training details remain tied to her family background, her professional success alongside her sisters highlights the collaborative networks of women artists in Second Empire Paris. Her contributions continue to be appreciated by historians of fashion, printmaking, and gender in art.