Saying goodbye must have felt easier in these gorgeous half-mourning dresses from 1902 in the Met’s ‘Death Becomes Her’ show at the Costume Institute. Unlike the black-bedecked Queen Victoria in the background, these ladies look primed to welcome the new. (Through Feb 1st).
Henriette Favre (French), Evening dress, mauve silk tulle, metal foil sequins, 1902. Probably French, Evening dress, black silk tulle, mauve silk chiffon, purple silvered gelatin sequins, 1902.
Slipping into a red dress has adventurous connotations completely suppressed by Cezanne’s portrait series of his wife, Hortense Fiquet, who sat for hours on end as her husband’s patient model. Cezanne’s famous line, ‘Only I understand how to paint a red,’ is put to the test in works that also create psychological intensity by disregarding traditional perspective. (‘Madame Cezanne’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through March 15th).
Paul Cezanne, Madame Cezanne in a Yellow Chair, oil on canvas, ca 1888-90.
