Research Catalog

La tête d'une femme ou la girouette à tout vent portrait fidèle dessiné d'après nature.

Title
La tête d'une femme ou la girouette à tout vent [graphic] : portrait fidèle dessiné d'après nature.
Publication
Paris : Charon : Martinet, [18--?]

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Still imageSupervised use *MGZFX Anon Tet 1Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance

Details

Additional Authors
  • Molière, 1622-1673.
  • Maison Martinet (Paris, France) pbl
Description
1 print : etching, engraving, hand-colored; 34 x 31 cm., plate mark 29 x 20 cm.
Summary
Full-length figure of a woman, poised on the tip of her left foot in a dance-like posture. Arranged around her head like the rays of the sun are nine small cupid heads with wings, blowing "vents" or winds of various emotions, among them vengeance, jealousy, coquetry, and inconstance. Immediately over her head is a moon face labeled "Mauvaise Lune."
Subjects
Genre/Form
  • Cartoons (Commentary)
  • Etchings.
Note
  • Caption title.
  • At top of print: Anecdote francaises.
Biography (note)
  • The title of this print paraphrases lines from Moliere's comedy Le dépit amoureux of 1656: "La tête d'une femme est comme la girouette / Au haut d'une maison, qui tourne au premier vent." The unflattering comparison to a weathervane swayed by every breath of wind implies that women are flighty and capricious, affected by every passing emotion. The precarious balance of the woman in this print underscores the implication that she is easily moved and unstable.
Call Number
*MGZFX Anon Tet 1
OCLC
825562990
Title
La tête d'une femme ou la girouette à tout vent [graphic] : portrait fidèle dessiné d'après nature.
Imprint
Paris : Charon : Martinet, [18--?]
Biography
The title of this print paraphrases lines from Moliere's comedy Le dépit amoureux of 1656: "La tête d'une femme est comme la girouette / Au haut d'une maison, qui tourne au premier vent." The unflattering comparison to a weathervane swayed by every breath of wind implies that women are flighty and capricious, affected by every passing emotion. The precarious balance of the woman in this print underscores the implication that she is easily moved and unstable.
Local Note
Cataloging funds provided by Friends of Jerome Robbins Dance Division.
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Added Author
Molière, 1622-1673. Dépit amoureux. Author in quotations or text abstracts
Maison Martinet (Paris, France) Publisher
Research Call Number
*MGZFX Anon Tet 1
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