The Eighteenth Century Woman, 1982 | From the Vaults

The painter Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun once wrote of the eighteenth century, “Women reigned then; the Revolution dethroned them.” Witty, elegant, and a paragon of “feminine charm,” the eighteenth-century woman was the secret engine of high society. In this rollicking, over-the-top documentary narrated by actress Marisa Berenson you’ll hear from the likes of Diana Vreeland and former Met Director Philippe de Montebello as they discuss how women of power and privilege ruled the Age of Enlightenment. From hosting salons that convened the most brilliant minds of the times to overseeing foreign policy, these women represented the era’s loftiest ideals and its most decadent vices.
As part of The Met’s 150th anniversary in 2020, each month we will release three to four films from the Museum’s extensive moving-image archive, which comprises over 1,500 films, both made and collected by the Museum, from the 1920s onward. This includes rarely seen artist profiles and documentaries, as well as process films about art-making techniques and behind-the-scenes footage of the Museum.
Read the 1982 exhibition catalogue for free: www.metmuseum....
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[@CF-fx9eo]

This was a delicious treat. Thank you so much for sharing. Absolutely loved the segments with Diana Vreeland.

[@maroru7577]

I watching this amazing documentary after watching last night "Diana Vreeland - The Eye Has to Travel" which is awesome and highly recommended.

[@andrewsutter8174]

Thank you so much for making this accessible. Have seen bits used in other things and always wanted to see in full!

[@beatlestitchmuserart7399]

80s documentaries the best! My childhood. Treasured memories

[@MsJPA79]

I would love for this exhibit to recreated after COVID is done. I would come to visit.

[@bernie1740]

Met had an exhibition called Dangerous Liaisons last 2004

[@JC1533-g7n]

Oh thank you for uploading. I've been wanting to see this for a long time. Thanks.

[@MD_80906]

Diana Vreeland love this!!! thanks for this MET

[@CountessKitten]

Oooh, thank you for this!

[@surfnsunshinekat]

so interesting. thank you for sharing.

[@mannyespinola9228]

Thank you for this video

[@johnreynolds5407]

Marvelous presentation.

[@cap4life1]

This … was definitely a different time in terms of museum curation and fashion history study. Glad we’ve progressed a bit since the 80’s.

[@catholiccrusader5328]

EVERY AGE is a sweet time to be alive providing one was lucky to be among the 1%.

[@katarinatibai8396]

Yes, sweet life only for the super rich.

[@darlamcfarland3323]

I was lucky enough to have seen this exhibition in person. What struck me most was how tiny the women were, and how thick and heavy the fabrics were, like they were made with today's furniture upholstery fabric. The shoes were delicate and flimsy looking. I don't know how they wore them more than once. Very interesting to see.

[@anettveg6207]

See Nicole Rudolph's videos on 18th century shoes, she explains, why they look smaller (On short these shoes hug your feet closer, and differently than modern shoes).

[@thequeen321]

On the subject of corset or more accurately they are called stays or a pair of pair of stays in the 18th century isn’t actually made to contort and disfigure the rib cage, the practice of tight lacing wasn’t popular until the late Victorian era or the Edwardian era at the earliest and of course tight lacing was most popular in the 1950s and such, but in history it really isn’t about waist reduction it’s about bust support and just something to help with the weight of the gowns, the idea of corset or stay’s being an instrument of torture is a rather modern adaptation and popularised more by Hollywood etc, we must never think that woman in history torture themselves for beauty because they simply didn’t know and god forbid the doctors of the time recommending arsenic medication and poisonous creams

[@Channel-uc6kp]

If we think about the world in the 18th century.... We can only be left wondering

[@96powerpower]

diana vreeland's tone deaf way of speaking said "what class inequality?"

[@g.r.hernandez7835]

what tone deaf way of speaking? 😉

[@balttimore]

Beautiful

[@nokomarie1963]

It is a little difficult to know how to take Philippe de Montebello's appearance in this; a self deprecating humorist or a bit of a cad, tough call.

[@MrZakatista]

Doesn’t sound like he does much lol.

[@antoniobroccoliporto4774]

All these narrators seem to be trained in the Mid Atlantic Accent.

[@bonnieburton9985]

Well they took from the poor take from starving kids to have the latest fashion those times were brutal anyway

[@katarinatibai8396]

💯💯💯🎯this

[@audreydaleski1067]

Elizebethan.