Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Molière, 1622-1673.
2. Maison Martinet (Paris, France) pbl

Description

1. 1 print : etching, engraving, hand-colored; 34 x 31 cm., plate mark 29 x 20 cm.

Summary

1. 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."

Subject

1. Cartoons (Commentary)
2. Women > Caricatures and cartoons
3. Etchings

Genre/Form

1. Cartoons (Commentary)
2. Etchings.

Call number

1. *MGZFX Anon Tet 1

Note

1. Caption title.
2. At top of print: Anecdote francaises.

Biography (note)

1. 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.

Title

1. La tête d'une femme ou la girouette à tout vent [graphic] : portrait fidèle dessiné d'après nature.

Imprint

1. Paris : Charon : Martinet, [18--?]

Biography

1. 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

1. Cataloging funds provided by Friends of Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

Connect to:

1. NYPL Digital Collections

Added author

1. Molière, 1622-1673. Dépit amoureux. Author in quotations or text abstracts
2. Maison Martinet (Paris, France) Publisher

Research call number

1. *MGZFX Anon Tet 1