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Discover the Parisian print world

Parisienne

The well-dressed Parisienne, paragon of chic and elegance, was frequently depicted by printmakers as a contemporary type.

She grew to be an icon of modernity and seduction —the personification of Paris, her metropolis.

A statue of a Parisienne measuring several metres and dressed in haute couture even towered over visitors at the 1900 World Exhibition.

View this artwork
View this artwork
  • The clothes make the Parisienne

    What made a woman a true Parisienne? Even more important than her beauty, behaviour or character were the clothes she wore.

    It was all about combining the latest fashion in eye-catching ways to create a visual ensemble that enriched the Parisian street scene.

    The aristocratic and artistic Misia Natanson was particularly adept in this regard. Her striking, tasteful figure entranced many a passer-by and printmaker.

  • View this artwork
  • Anyone a Parisienne?

    The appearance of cheaper clothes in the French capital’s department stores meant that the ideal of the Parisienne was also attainable by less well-off women.

    Now everyone could stroll fashionably along the boulevards.

    A successful prostitute might even buy her clothes from the same designer as a princess, making it harder to judge a woman’s class and virtue from her appearance.

  • View this artwork

Further Reading

Octave Uzanne, La femme à Paris, nos contemporaines. Notes successives sur les parisiennes de ce temps dans leurs divers milieux, états et conditions, Paris 1894

Ruth Iskin, ‘The chic Parisienne. A National Brand of French fashion and Femininity’, in Modern Women and Parisian Consumer Culture in Impressionist Painting, Cambridge 2007, p. 184-224

Sabine Denuelle, La Parisienne dans l’art, Paris 2011

111 prints in 'Parisienne'

  • p2545S2010
  • p2504S2009
  • p2524S2009
  • p2518S2009
  • p1161V2000
  • p1165V2000
  • p1166V2000
  • p1167V2000
  • p1168V2000
  • p1172V2000
  • p1173V2000
  • p1174V2000
  • p1175V2000
  • p1176V2000
  • p1179V2000
  • p1219V2000
  • p1695V2000
  • p1696V2000
  • p1796S2000
  • p1743V2000
  • p0103V1970
  • p0124V1970
  • p0125V1970
  • p0126V1970
  • p0928S1998
  • p0951S1997
  • p0299V1994
  • p0300V1982
  • p0320V1982
  • p0426V1982
  • p0427V1982
  • p0152V1966
  • p0165V1966
  • p0238V1966
  • p0239V1966
  • p0024V1962
  • p0029V1962
  • p0030V1962
  • p0031V1962
  • p2440V2004
  • p2441V2004
  • p2442V2004
  • p2359S2003
  • p0766V1978
  • p0803M1994
  • p0804M1994
  • p0808M1994
  • p0812M1994
  • p0819M1994
  • p0821M1994
  • p0822M1994
  • p0823M1994
  • p0824M1994
  • p0825M1994
  • p0827M1994
  • p0828M1994
  • p0901N1996
  • p0909N1996
  • p2468V2005
  • p2726S2013
  • d1195S2015
  • p2779V2015
  • p2781S2016
  • p2817S2017
  • p2824S2018
  • p2825S2018
  • p2826S2018
  • p2675S2012
  • p2678S2012
  • p2679S2012
  • p2680S2012
  • p1985-023S2002
  • p2715S2013
  • p2725S2013
  • p2795S2016
  • p2093S2002
  • p1384V2000
  • p1398V2000
  • p1400V2000
  • p1410V2000
  • p1414V2000
  • p1419V2000
  • p1063V2000
  • p1075V2000
  • p1089V2000
  • p1096V2000
  • p1112V2000
  • p2554-002S2010
  • p2555S2010
  • p2577S2011
  • p2580S2011
  • p2581S2011
  • p2584S2011
  • p2585S2011
  • p2597S2011
  • p1281V2000
  • p1330V2000
  • p2595S2011
  • p1487V2000
  • p1202V2000
  • p1171V2000
  • p0992V2000
  • p0993V2000
  • p0996V2000
  • p1003V2000
  • p1004V2000
  • p1025V2000
  • p1041V2000
  • p3059S2021
  • p3061S2022

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Continue your journey into the Parisian print world of the fin de siècle. Discover more printmakers, stories and themes. The connections are endless.

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