My posts on 18th century clothing in shades of purple, and the direction of stripes on 18th century sleeves, have been so popular that I thought you might enjoy a whole series on patterns and colours. You can learn so much by just looking at a bunch of images of clothes from any given era with one unifying detail.
For my first theme I picked pink.
What shades of pink were popular in the 18th century? Is there evidence those shades were more or less popular in certain decades, or mostly used on one type of garment?
Even if there are no clear trends, looking at all of the extant pinks and depictions of pinks is helpful for recreating garments and accessories using colours and patterns that look authentic. And who doesn’t love a bunch of pretty, pretty pinks?
As I began assembling images I realised two things almost immediately. First, almost every shade of pink possible shows up in extant 18th century garments and portraits. (yes, even hot pink!). Second, pink was far, far more common in 18th century clothing than purples was. Was it cheaper and easier to dye? Or, conversely, more expensive and thus more of a status symbol? Or were pink shades simply more fashionable throughout the century?
Because pink was so much more common, I’ve broken the pink post up into decades. So now you get to enjoy four (and maybe more) weeks of 18th century pink posts!
I also got a bit clever and tried 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.
1700s Pinks
One shade of pink that shows up frequently across the 18th century is a soft pinky-lilac that could also arguably fit under the purple banner. It’s shown here on two elegant young girls and in a length of ‘bizarre’ silk (learn more about them here).
Follower of Pierre Gobert, Portrait possibly of Élisabeth Charlotte of Orléans (1676-1744), niece of Louis XIV
Circle of Pierre Gobert (1662–1744), Portrait of a young girl in a pink satin dress protecting her biseleur from a birdkeeper, late 17th century or early 18th century
Dress fabric, Spitalfields, England, ca. 1708, Brocaded silk damask, Victoria and Albert Museum, 711-1864
I’ve cheated ever so slightly by picking a late 17th century muff to match these two young men and their snazzy pink neck ribbons. I just thought showing ribbons to go with ribbons was too good of an opportunity to pass up on.
After Pierre Gobert – Portrait of a young gentleman ca 1700
After Pierre Gobert – Portrait of a young gentleman ca 1700
Muff French about 1680–90, France, MFA Boston 38.1266
And heres a slightly less faded pink in the same family:
Brocaded silk, early 18th century, Continental Europe, MFA Boston 96.428
Here’s a deep rose hue:
Circle of Pierre Gobert (1662–1744, Portrait of a young noblewoman, turn of the 17/18th century
Woven silk, damask lancé with the liseré effects of the ground weft, 1675-1700, French or Italian; proto-bizarre; green and white selvedge Victoria and Albert Museum
And a beauty in blush pink with carmine ribbons in her hair
Follower of Pierre Gobert (1662–1744), Presumed portrait of Marie Louise Élisabeth d’Orléans (1695-1719), daughter of Philippe, Duke of Orléans. ca 1705
Stomacher, 1700–20, MFA Boston, 43.1909
Orange-y salmon pink is another shade that turns up in many portraits and extant textiles.
Attributed to Pierre Gobert (1662–1744), Lady in Pink, ca 1700
Length of brocaded silk, 1700, France, MFA Boston, 48.1168A
Woven silk, 1695-1710, French, Victoria and Albert Museum
Stomacher (probably from an image robe) 1690-1710, French ? silk woven with a floral pattern, Victoria and Albert Museum
1720s Pinks
Vivid salmon pinks show up in these three paintings and a length of dress fabric, showing the same shade across four countries.
The Wedding of Stephen Beckingham and Mary Cox, William Hogarth, 1729, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Mary Jaquelin; ca. 1722-23, Attributed to Nehemiah Partridge, American, 1683 – 1730
Jacques Ignatius de Roore – Portrait of M.C. Cremers, the Mistress of the Artist, 1727
Dress fabric of brocaded silk, Netherlands, 1735-1740, Victoria and Albert Museum
A slightly softer shade is seen on Frances, Lady Byron, and a pair of very fashionable velvet shoes:
Frances, Lady Byron (d.1757), Third Wife of the 4th Lord Byron by Michael Dahl, ca. 1720
Embroidered Pink Velvet shoes, 1720s
Here’s another example of that lilac pink:
Gustaf Lundberg (1695–1786), After Jean-Baptiste Santerre (1651–1717), Portrait of Marie Anne de Bourbon, 1720
This noblewoman sports a lilac pink gown, a carmine pink robe, and a dazzling array of matching pink jewels:
Henri Millot – Portrait of a noblewoman in a pink dress and an ermine-trimmed robe, ca. 1725
And this casaquin and petticoat features every shade shown above, and then some!
Dress (casaquin and petticoat), 1725—40, Italian, linen with wool embroidery, Metropolitan Museum of Art 1993.17a, b
Dress, 1725—40, Italian, linen with wool embroidery, Metropolitan Museum of Art 1993.17a, b
Here’s a gloriously vivid pink:
Antoine Pesne Portrait of Wilhelmine of Prussia, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (1709-1758), 1725
Robe Volante 1720-30, Musee Galliera
And for some pinks on men, the Ottoman ambassador to France in pale pink:
Pierre Gobert (1662–1744, Portrait of Yirmisekiz Mehmed Çelebi, commissioned by the Bâtiments du Roi. 1724
And some coral silk stockings for showing off a well-turned leg:
Men’s coral silk stockings, 1725-1750 meg-andrews.com
This waistcoat is the equal to the casaquin above for its demonstration of the many shades of pink available:
Man’s sleeved waistcoat, American (English fabric) 1720s, Silk damask, brocaded with silk and metallic yarns,, MFA Boston 41.887
1730s Pinks
Polyxena of Hesse isn’t afraid to mix colours, with a bold combination of deep rose and scarlet red:
Deep rose shoes to match:
Shoes, 1720s-30s
A softer rose features on Jacapo’s breeches and jacket lining, and another fetching pair of shoes:.
Jacopo Amigoni- English- Portrait of the singer Carlo Broschi named Farinelli 1734-35
Pink silk shoes, English, c.1735-1750 Bata Shoe Museum
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
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, Gorgeous Georgians at Berrington Hall 2014. From the Charles Paget Wade Collection stored at Berrington Hall
Adélaïde’s sister sports 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 and the second portrait is a match to the pink silk 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 on a more official portrait of her, and is picked up in the fabric
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
