An elegant establishment for young ladies
Watercolour
ca. 1805 (painted)
ca. 1805 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This famous caricature mocks women’s education that consists only of lessons in deportment and dress, music and dance. Such an education is shown to be both superficial and self-indulgent. The artist implies that these were the only accomplishments thought necessary for a ‘career’ of marriage and motherhood. Indeed, one girl is seen in the act of eloping with her suitor through the window. She is the finished product of this kind of schooling.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | An elegant establishment for young ladies (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour |
| Brief description | Watercolour by Edward Francis Burney (1760-1848) entitled 'An Elegant Establishment for Young Ladies'. Great Britain, ca. 1805. |
| Physical description | Burney's busy caricature shows women's education reduced to lessons in deportment and dress, music and dance, an education that is superficial and self-indulgent. He implies that these were all the accomplishments thought necessary for a 'career' of marriage and motherhood. Indeed one girl, the finished product of such schooling, is seen through the window in the act of eloping with her suitor (though as we know from the case of the impetuous Lydia in Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice', elopement did not necessarily result in marriage). |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Given by Messrs Thomas Agnew and Sons |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This famous caricature mocks women’s education that consists only of lessons in deportment and dress, music and dance. Such an education is shown to be both superficial and self-indulgent. The artist implies that these were the only accomplishments thought necessary for a ‘career’ of marriage and motherhood. Indeed, one girl is seen in the act of eloping with her suitor through the window. She is the finished product of this kind of schooling. |
| Bibliographic reference | Coombs, Katherine British watercolours : 1750-1950 . London: V&A Publications, 2012
p.88, pl.77 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | P.50-1930 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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