An Electric Blue Gown at Grandmother’s Party, 1788

Bouquets, or Grandmother’s Party by Philibert-Louis Debucourt  (1788)

Grandmother’s party is popping with fashionable details:  the little boy in a striped suit, the chubby cheeked toddler’s bonnet that matches maman’s, and Maman.  The hedgehog hairstyle she’s sporting isn’t too hot, but how about the electric blue paired with a black lace and silk wrapper?

All in all the etching, dedicated to mothers, is a quaint family scene from an artist and social satirist who built up a body of work painting racier images.   You may compare it with Debucourt’s 1787 companion piece that is dedicated to fathers.

The Compliment or New Year’s Morning by Philibert-Louis Debucourt (1787)