My cheeks are very pink and rosy with flu, so it’s time to return to 18th century pinks with the 1730s!
Previous posts in this series:
- 1700-1709 from palest pink to darkest,
- 1710-1719 (aka all the Barbie pinks)
- 1720-1729 pinks, dominated by shades of salmon.
As usual, I’ll try to post a painting or print of the time and then an extant item or two from the same time range in a similar shade of pink.
1730s Pinks
Polyxena of Hesse isn’t afraid to mix colours, with a bold combination of deep rose and scarlet red:
Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg by Maria Giovanna Clementi, 1730-35, Madrid, Museum Cerralbo.
Deep rose shoes to match:
Shoes, 1720s-30s
A softer rose features on Carlo’s breeches and jacket lining, and another fetching pair of shoes:.
Jacopo Amigoni, Portrait of the singer Carlo Broschi named Farinelli 1734-35
Pink silk shoes, English, c.1735-1750 Bata Shoe Museum
Here’s an equally vivacious waistcoat:
Man’s waistcoat, silk brocaded with coloured silk, woven in Spitalfields, ca. 1734, VAM T72.1951
This portrait of Jane Clarke is a wonderful example of shot silks in the early 18th century. I wish I’d been able to find an extant item in a similar fabric!
Jane Clark (Mrs. Ezekiel Lewis), John Smibert, 1732
Interestingly a very similar fabric is shown in another American portrait:
Danvers Osborn (1715-1753), Governor of New York, 1736
And on the lower tunic of the Ottoman Empire’s ambassador to Sweden, while two other members of his retinue are attired in salmon:
Georg Engelhard Schröder: Mehmed Said Efendi and his Retinue, 1735
The closest match I could find to those three portraits is this glorious casaquin. Just add in a dark blue cross thread for that shot effect:
Casaquin. Date- ca. 1730 – 1740 Medium- Gros de Tours, orange silk, blue glazed linen lining, gilded silver lace, palaisgalliera.paris.fr
And this mantua has a whole range of pinks:
Mantua, England, 1733-1734 (woven) 1735-1740 (made), Brocaded silk, hand-sewn with spun silk and spun threads, lined with linen, brown paper lining for cuffs, brass, canvas and pleated silk, V&A
Mantua, England, 1733-1734 (woven) 1735-1740 (made), Brocaded silk, hand-sewn with spun silk and spun threads, lined with linen, brown paper lining for cuffs, brass, canvas and pleated silk, V&A
Mantua, England, 1733-1734 (woven) 1735-1740 (made), Brocaded silk, hand-sewn with spun silk and spun threads, lined with linen, brown paper lining for cuffs, brass, canvas and pleated silk detail, V&A
This unknown woman sports a very vivid coral jacket and skirt set, and as the waistcoat and jacket below show, the hue is not an exaggeration.
Portrait of a Lady, attr. to Jonathan Richardson the elder, c. 1730
Jacket, 1736-40, exhibited in Gorgeous Georgians at Berrington Hall 2014. From the Charles Paget Wade Collection stored at Berrington Hall
Adélaïde’s sister has soft pink stripes in her beautiful gown, a match to the soft pink shoes below:
Claude Arnulphy (1697–1786), Adélaïde de Gueidan and her sister, 1735-4
Shoes, 1710–49, British, Silk, metallic, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009.300.4131a, b
I love historical examples of self portraits by women artists, and here’s a delightful one featuring pink trimmings. Some of the same tints are picked up in the brocade jacket below.
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern (1715–1797), Self-portrait as belle jardinière, 1739
Jacket (Casaquin), c. 1730-1750; (fabric c. 1720- 1730, FRANCE silk and gilt brocade, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1331-D4
She must have liked pink because the same colour show up in her ribbon bows in this Pesne portrait of her:
Antoine Pesne, Portrait of Elisabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Bevern, Prussian queen, 1739
Length of Silk, ca 1730, England or the Netherlands, MFA Boston 2005.463
on the other end of the pink spectrum, here’s a very fetching robe volante in a lilac pink:
Jean-Baptiste Pater (1695–1736), Concert Champêtre, circa 1734, Metropolitan Museum of Art , 37.27
Perhaps she wore it with shoes like these, with lilac and cyclamen pink florals;
Pair of women’s shoes with matching clogs, England, early 1730S, MFA Boston, 44.497A-B
This restyled Anglaise features pinks from salmon all the way past lilac pink into purple:
Dress (robe a la anglaise) about 1735, restyled 1763, Silk; brocaded plain weave 1990.513a-b, MFA Boston
And we’ll finish up with a pair of pretty, pretty princesses, one in silver-blue and one in pink:
Attributed to Pierre Gobert, Louise-Élisabeth of France and her little sister Henriette of France (ca 1737)
And a pair of pretty princess worthy shoes with silver gilt trim and rosy pink blossoms:
Pair of women’s mules, 1730s, MFA Boston, 43.1718A-B
Riches!
Red is dead, blue is through, green’s obscene, brown’s taboo, and there is not the slightest excuse for plum or puce or chartreuse.
Ahem. Apologies.
Oh my, Nur’s comment above is wonderful.
Another one the spot ditty:
“Blue is dreary,
Brown so weary,
Purple’s but smeary.
Yet pink?
Pink is cheery!”
Who else is in for a little fun?
Delightful article, and Think Pink!
Natalie
The various shades of pink to red usually come from madder root, which was widely grown all over Europe. So it was probably one of the less expensive dyes.
Weren’t many 18th century pinks and reds from cochineal, because it was more colourfast and easier to dye with than madder? But still really expensive because Spain controlled the trade until France figured out how to cultivate them in the early 19th century?
A fascinating post, thank you. If you have time, could you say something about the dress (?) worn by Frances Lady Byron? It looks much less formal and fitted than I had expected of the 18th century.
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston did an exhibit a few years ago featuring pink in fashion…they had a men’s suit from the 1700’s that was a beautiful shade of rose with purple embroidery. It was gorgeous!
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston did an exhibit a few years ago featuring pink in fashion…they had a men’s suit from the 1700’s that was a beautiful shade of rose with purple embroidery. It was gorgeous!
I rather think you could get the some of these pinks with safflower, after considering the matter, but the color wouldn’t last so long so vividly, so I’m stumped.