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Incroyables and merveilleuses

The Incroyables (French: [ɛ̃kʁwajabl], "incredibles") and their female counterparts, the Merveilleuses (French: [mɛʁvɛjøz], "marvelous women"), were members of a fashionable aristocratic subculture in Paris during the French Directory (1795–1799). Whether as catharsis or in a need to reconnect with other survivors of the Reign of Terror, they greeted the new regime with an outbreak of luxury, decadence, and even silliness. They held hundreds of balls and started fashion trends in clothing and mannerisms that today seem exaggerated, affected, or even effete. They were also mockingly called "incoyable" or "meveilleuse", without the letter R, reflecting their upper class accent in which that letter was lightly pronounced, almost inaudibly. When this period ended, society took a more sober and modest turn.

Paris Ladies in their Winter dress (1799). English caricature by Isaac Cruikshank.

Members of the ruling classes were also among the movement's leading figures, and the group heavily influenced the politics, clothing, and arts of the period. They emerged from the muscadins, a term for dandyish anti-Jacobin street gangs in Paris from 1793[n 1] who were important politically for some two years; the terms are often used interchangeably, though the muscadins were of a lower social background, being largely middle-class.

Social background

 
Portrait of a Lady, in Neoclassical style, c. 1799

Ornate carriages reappeared on the streets of Paris the day after the execution (28 July 1794) of Maximilien Robespierre, which brought an end to the Jacobin-era Committee of Public Safety and signaled the commencement of the Thermidorian Reaction. There were masters and servants once more in Paris, and the city erupted in a furor of pleasure-seeking and entertainment. Theaters thrived, and popular music satirized the excesses of the Revolution. One popular song of the period called on the French people to "share my horror" and to send "these drinkers of human blood" back amongst the monsters from which they had sprung. Its lyrics rejoiced that "your tormentors finally grow pale at the tardy dawn of vengeance".[1]

Many public balls were bals des victimes at which young aristocrats who had lost loved ones to the guillotine danced in mourning dress or wore black armbands, greeting one another with violent movements of the head as if in decapitation.[n 2] A ball held at the Hôtel Thellusson on the rue de Provence in the 9th arrondissement of Paris restricted its guest list to the grown children of the guillotined.[2]

Clothing and fashion

 
Cafe des Incroyables, 1797

The Merveilleuses scandalized Paris with dresses and tunics modeled after the ancient Greeks and Romans, cut of light or even transparent linen and gauze. Sometimes so revealing they were termed "woven air", many gowns displayed cleavage and were too tight to allow pockets. Oftentimes, the gowns were dampened in order to cling to the figure.[3] To carry even a handkerchief, the ladies had to use small bags known as reticules.[4] They were fond of wigs, often choosing blonde because the Paris Commune had banned blonde wigs, but they also wore them in black, blue, and green. Enormous hats, short curls like those on Roman busts, and Greek-style sandals were the rage. The sandals tied above the ankle with crossed ribbons or strings of pearls. Exotic and expensive scents fabricated by perfume houses like Parfums Lubin were worn both for style and as indicators of social station. Thérésa Tallien, known as "Our Lady of Thermidor", wore expensive rings on the toes of her bare feet and gold circlets on her legs.

The Incroyables wore eccentric outfits: large earrings, green jackets, wide trousers, huge neckties, thick glasses, and hats topped by "dog ears", their hair falling on their ears. Their musk-based fragrances earned the derogatory nickname muscadins for them and their immediate predecessors, a more middle-class group of anti-Jacobins. They wore bicorne hats and carried distinctive knobbled bludgeons or canes, which they referred to as their "executive power." Hair was often shoulder-length, sometimes pulled up in the back with a comb to imitate the hairstyles of the condemned. Some sported large monocles. They frequently affected a lisp, allegedly to avoid the letter "R" as in revolution, and sometimes a stooped, hunchbacked posture or slouch, as caricatured in numerous cartoons of the time.[5]

In addition to Madame Tallien, famous Merveilleuses included Mademoiselle Lange, Juliette Récamier, and two very popular Créoles: Fortunée Hamelin and Hortense de Beauharnais. Hortense, a daughter of the Empress Josephine, married Louis Bonaparte and became the mother of Napoleon III. Fortunée was not born rich, but she became famous for her salons and her string of prominent lovers. Parisian society compared Germaine de Staël and Mme Raguet to Minerva and Juno and named their garments for Roman deities: gowns were styled Flora or Diana, and tunics were styled à la Ceres or Minerva.[6]

The leading Incroyable, Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras, was one of five directors who ran the Republic of France and gave the period its name. He hosted luxurious feasts attended by royalists, repentant Jacobins, ladies, and courtesans. Since divorce was now legal, sexuality was looser than in the past. However, de Barras' reputation for immorality may have been a factor in his later overthrow, a coup that brought the French Consulate to power and paved the way for Napoleon Bonaparte.

Representation in the arts

The fictional nouveau riche social climber Madame Angot, awkwardly wearing ridiculous Greek clothing, parodied the Merveilleuses in many plays of the period. Carl Vernet's caricatures of the wardrobes of the Incroyables and Merveilleuses met with contemporary popular success.

Images of the period

Other meanings

  • Incroyable was an 18th-century French nickname for a yo-yo, then a fashionable toy.[7]

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ Jacobins stood for the centralised supposed far-left republic and its terrors, so included established rulers such as Robespierre
  2. ^ Romantic horror had already come to the fore in gothic fiction, beginning with The Castle of Otranto (1764); however, this theme expanded: Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), Mary Shelley (1797–1851), gothic novels and other-language equivalents such as the German Schauerroman and the French roman noir would all soon follow after this period.

References

  1. ^ Le Reveil du peuple, "The Awakening of the People'", written by Jean-Marie Souriguières de St Marc and set to music by Pierre Gaveaux
  2. ^ Alain Rustenholz, Les traversées de Paris, Parigramme, September 2006, Evreux, ISBN 2-84096-400-7
  3. ^ Rossiter, Caroline (2009-01-01). "Early French Caricature (1795-1830) and English Influence". European Comic Art. 2 (1): 41–64. doi:10.3828/eca.2.1.4. ISSN 1754-3797.
  4. ^ "Reticule". Austentation: Regency Accessories. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  5. ^ Cage, E.C. (Winter 2009). "The Sartorial Self: Neoclassical Fashion and Gender Identity in France, 1797-1804". Eighteenth-Century Studies. (42)2 (2): 193–215. doi:10.1353/ecs.0.0039. S2CID 144480882 – via https://doi.org/10.1353/ecs.0.0039. {{cite journal}}: External link in |via= (help)
  6. ^ Alfred Richard Allinson, The Days of the Directoire, J. Lane, (1910), p. 190
  7. ^ Lucky Meisenheimer. . Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2009.

Bibliography

  • Barras, Paul; Mémoires de Barras, membre du Directoire (1895), Hachette, 1896
  • Clarke, Joseph; Commemorating the Dead in Revolutionary France: Revolution and Remembrance, 1789–1799; Cambridge University Press, 2007.
  • André Gaillot, ed. (1911) Une ancienne muscadine, Fortunée Hamelin: lettres inédites 1839–1851, Émile-Paul, 1911

Further reading

  • Bourhis, Katell le: The Age of Napoleon: Costume from Revolution to Empire, 1789–1815, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1989. ISBN 0870995707

External links

  • Merveilleuses, Incroyables, Muscadins, Petites-maîtresses, Petits-maîtres, Mirliflores, Inconcevables, Amazones, Muguets, Gandins… (in French)
  • Letter from de Barras accepting the post of Director
  • De Barras at the National Library of France

incroyables, merveilleuses, incroyables, french, kʁwajabl, incredibles, their, female, counterparts, merveilleuses, french, mɛʁvɛjøz, marvelous, women, were, members, fashionable, aristocratic, subculture, paris, during, french, directory, 1795, 1799, whether,. The Incroyables French ɛ kʁwajabl incredibles and their female counterparts the Merveilleuses French mɛʁvɛjoz marvelous women were members of a fashionable aristocratic subculture in Paris during the French Directory 1795 1799 Whether as catharsis or in a need to reconnect with other survivors of the Reign of Terror they greeted the new regime with an outbreak of luxury decadence and even silliness They held hundreds of balls and started fashion trends in clothing and mannerisms that today seem exaggerated affected or even effete They were also mockingly called incoyable or meveilleuse without the letter R reflecting their upper class accent in which that letter was lightly pronounced almost inaudibly When this period ended society took a more sober and modest turn Paris Ladies in their Winter dress 1799 English caricature by Isaac Cruikshank Members of the ruling classes were also among the movement s leading figures and the group heavily influenced the politics clothing and arts of the period They emerged from the muscadins a term for dandyish anti Jacobin street gangs in Paris from 1793 n 1 who were important politically for some two years the terms are often used interchangeably though the muscadins were of a lower social background being largely middle class Contents 1 Social background 2 Clothing and fashion 3 Representation in the arts 3 1 Images of the period 4 Other meanings 5 See also 6 Notes and references 6 1 Notes 6 2 References 7 Bibliography 8 Further reading 9 External linksSocial background Edit Portrait of a Lady in Neoclassical style c 1799Ornate carriages reappeared on the streets of Paris the day after the execution 28 July 1794 of Maximilien Robespierre which brought an end to the Jacobin era Committee of Public Safety and signaled the commencement of the Thermidorian Reaction There were masters and servants once more in Paris and the city erupted in a furor of pleasure seeking and entertainment Theaters thrived and popular music satirized the excesses of the Revolution One popular song of the period called on the French people to share my horror and to send these drinkers of human blood back amongst the monsters from which they had sprung Its lyrics rejoiced that your tormentors finally grow pale at the tardy dawn of vengeance 1 Many public balls were bals des victimes at which young aristocrats who had lost loved ones to the guillotine danced in mourning dress or wore black armbands greeting one another with violent movements of the head as if in decapitation n 2 A ball held at the Hotel Thellusson on the rue de Provence in the 9th arrondissement of Paris restricted its guest list to the grown children of the guillotined 2 Clothing and fashion Edit Cafe des Incroyables 1797The Merveilleuses scandalized Paris with dresses and tunics modeled after the ancient Greeks and Romans cut of light or even transparent linen and gauze Sometimes so revealing they were termed woven air many gowns displayed cleavage and were too tight to allow pockets Oftentimes the gowns were dampened in order to cling to the figure 3 To carry even a handkerchief the ladies had to use small bags known as reticules 4 They were fond of wigs often choosing blonde because the Paris Commune had banned blonde wigs but they also wore them in black blue and green Enormous hats short curls like those on Roman busts and Greek style sandals were the rage The sandals tied above the ankle with crossed ribbons or strings of pearls Exotic and expensive scents fabricated by perfume houses like Parfums Lubin were worn both for style and as indicators of social station Theresa Tallien known as Our Lady of Thermidor wore expensive rings on the toes of her bare feet and gold circlets on her legs The Incroyables wore eccentric outfits large earrings green jackets wide trousers huge neckties thick glasses and hats topped by dog ears their hair falling on their ears Their musk based fragrances earned the derogatory nickname muscadins for them and their immediate predecessors a more middle class group of anti Jacobins They wore bicorne hats and carried distinctive knobbled bludgeons or canes which they referred to as their executive power Hair was often shoulder length sometimes pulled up in the back with a comb to imitate the hairstyles of the condemned Some sported large monocles They frequently affected a lisp allegedly to avoid the letter R as in revolution and sometimes a stooped hunchbacked posture or slouch as caricatured in numerous cartoons of the time 5 In addition to Madame Tallien famous Merveilleuses included Mademoiselle Lange Juliette Recamier and two very popular Creoles Fortunee Hamelin and Hortense de Beauharnais Hortense a daughter of the Empress Josephine married Louis Bonaparte and became the mother of Napoleon III Fortunee was not born rich but she became famous for her salons and her string of prominent lovers Parisian society compared Germaine de Stael and Mme Raguet to Minerva and Juno and named their garments for Roman deities gowns were styled Flora or Diana and tunics were styled a la Ceres or Minerva 6 The leading Incroyable Paul Francois Jean Nicolas vicomte de Barras was one of five directors who ran the Republic of France and gave the period its name He hosted luxurious feasts attended by royalists repentant Jacobins ladies and courtesans Since divorce was now legal sexuality was looser than in the past However de Barras reputation for immorality may have been a factor in his later overthrow a coup that brought the French Consulate to power and paved the way for Napoleon Bonaparte Representation in the arts EditThe fictional nouveau riche social climber Madame Angot awkwardly wearing ridiculous Greek clothing parodied the Merveilleuses in many plays of the period Carl Vernet s caricatures of the wardrobes of the Incroyables and Merveilleuses met with contemporary popular success Images of the period Edit Painting Un Incroyable by Carle Vernet perhaps the first image of a top hat 1796 French caricature of Merveilleuse very thin dresses Boilly Incroyable parade James Gillray s caricature of 1805 Paul Barras being entertained by the naked dancing of two wives of prominent men Theresa Tallien and Josephine Bonaparte 1797 Full and half dress for April 1809 Les Modernes Incroyables 1810 Les Incroyables French dandy Les Incroyables Muscadins Point de Convention c 1797People associated with Incroyables and Merveilleuses Madame Tallien Juliette Recamier 1777 1849 Portrait de Madame de Verninac Josephine de BeauharnaisOther meanings EditIncroyable was an 18th century French nickname for a yo yo then a fashionable toy 7 See also Edit1795 1820 in fashion 1800s decade Ci devant Dandy La fille de Madame Angot Jean Lambert Tallien Theatre de ParisNotes and references EditNotes Edit Jacobins stood for the centralised supposed far left republic and its terrors so included established rulers such as Robespierre Romantic horror had already come to the fore in gothic fiction beginning with The Castle of Otranto 1764 however this theme expanded Edgar Allan Poe 1809 1849 Mary Shelley 1797 1851 gothic novels and other language equivalents such as the German Schauerroman and the French roman noir would all soon follow after this period References Edit Le Reveil du peuple The Awakening of the People written by Jean Marie Souriguieres de St Marc and set to music by Pierre Gaveaux Alain Rustenholz Les traversees de Paris Parigramme September 2006 Evreux ISBN 2 84096 400 7 Rossiter Caroline 2009 01 01 Early French Caricature 1795 1830 and English Influence European Comic Art 2 1 41 64 doi 10 3828 eca 2 1 4 ISSN 1754 3797 Reticule Austentation Regency Accessories Retrieved 4 November 2012 Cage E C Winter 2009 The Sartorial Self Neoclassical Fashion and Gender Identity in France 1797 1804 Eighteenth Century Studies 42 2 2 193 215 doi 10 1353 ecs 0 0039 S2CID 144480882 via https doi org 10 1353 ecs 0 0039 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a External link in code class cs1 code via code help Alfred Richard Allinson The Days of the Directoire J Lane 1910 p 190 Lucky Meisenheimer Lucky s History of the Yo Yo Archived from the original on 13 December 2009 Retrieved 26 November 2009 Bibliography EditBarras Paul Memoires de Barras membre du Directoire 1895 Hachette 1896 Clarke Joseph Commemorating the Dead in Revolutionary France Revolution and Remembrance 1789 1799 Cambridge University Press 2007 Andre Gaillot ed 1911 Une ancienne muscadine Fortunee Hamelin lettres inedites 1839 1851 Emile Paul 1911Further reading EditBourhis Katell le The Age of Napoleon Costume from Revolution to Empire 1789 1815 Metropolitan Museum of Art 1989 ISBN 0870995707External links EditDirectoire at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Resources from Wikiversity Merveilleuses in Fashion History Merveilleuses Incroyables Muscadins Petites maitresses Petits maitres Mirliflores Inconcevables Amazones Muguets Gandins in French Letter from de Barras accepting the post of Director De Barras at the National Library of France Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Incroyables and merveilleuses amp oldid 1169637330, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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