Fashion Plate from Le Monde Elégant
1870
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Hamill and Barker
Accession Number
1962-143-19
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century Paris with this *Fashion Plate from Le Mondeégant* (1870), a print preserved in the Smithsonian American Art's collection. Fashion plates like this one were the Instagram of their era—vibrant illustrations showcasing the latest trends for the fashionable elite. Published in the renowned French magazine *Le Mondeégant*, which debuted in 1838, these prints captured the opulent styles of the Second Empire, lithography or engraving with hand-coloring to bring haute couture to life on paper. Created amid the turbulent year of 1870, just before the fall o...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...