Rate the Dress: Jeanne Samary by Bastien-Lepage
Last week Norma Shearer as Juliet fared no better than most of our other glamorous actresses who wore historical interpretations. She was dubbed “mutton dressed up as sparkly lamb” and rated only a 3.2 out of 10. Ouch! I haven’t told you this yet, but this week is going to be all about Jeanne Samary, so our Rate the Dress is her portrait by Jules Bastien-Lepage, probably painted in 1879 The 21 year old Jeanne is shown relaxing on a cane chair, her brown heel clad feet sticking out from under her blue-grey skirt which contrasts with her dark blue jacket with white cuffs, the parasol of the paintings title resting jauntily over one shoulder. Here is the exciting thing: we also have a photograph of Jeanne in this outfit, so we can compare how Bastien-Lepage interpreted it: And a close up of her face: What do you think. Is Jeanne the picture of youthful relaxation and comfort, or has she been depicted as the typical actress: too casual, too tousled, and too approachable? In …
