Mr and Mrs Perronet in Paris

During the Rococo-period French men and women are very concerned about the ways in which their indentities were constructed regarding clothing, by the ways in which one’s gender and social identity were marked as well as it was corresponding with the emerging society of taste.

Alexander Roslin, who is the artist behind this double portrait made 1754, is possibly the most renowmed Swedish artist ever. His way of painting, his sensitivity to trends, his skills are just amzing. In his portraits he manages to capture the luxury taste in fashion at that time and the true personality of the models. He was born in Malm? in Sweden 1718 i Malm? but moved to Paris about 1750 were he also died 1793.

When I was standing in front of this painting I thought it was real. It was like beeing a guest in their home.

It it said that the portrait shows Mr Jean Rolphe Perronet and his wife. Mr Perronet is dressed in dark red velvet jacket with extravagant golden embroidery adoring the broad cuffs of the arms as well as the tails. He is wearing matching breeches of the same shade of red which are fastened with gold buttons and complete his outfit.

If we take a closer look one could say that his attire in fact is more decorated than his wife’s which often were the trend during this time. Her dress is also decorated, with silver embroideries, but the ornamentation is more discreet and doesn’t stand out visually as much as his.

Mr Perronet is standing which makes him the active part in the picture and his pose, so typical for this time, make him more of a focal point.  He holds an architectural model why it is rather easy to guess his profession. He was architect.

The wife is beautifully dressed but it always reminds me about all rigid corsets and petticoats she has to be dressed in under this expensive "surface" which transform her body into the shape to match with interior design.

She holds a box in her lap and a shell in her hand. Why shells? Because this is a symbol for her knowledge in biology and geography as well as shells were exotic and therefore expensive and therefor important to show.

Fashion was about clarifying social position and structure of society through clothing and consumption. The decorated garments work in harmony with the equally extravagant spatial environment framing the bodies with lavish materials and object.