THE HESITANT FIANCÉE (1866) by AUGUSTE TOULMOUCHE
The painting depicts two women leaning toward what is believed to be the bride-to-be in a white dress, most likely on her wedding day. A young girl stands off to one side of the frame, looking at the flowers in her long hair in a mirror.
The first thing that should grab your attention is the direct eye contact that the fiancée has in the painting. Her serious expression, her complete despair, and hopelessness give us a sense of the certainty that this marriage is doomed.
This could be a sign of an arranged marriage. It was a common thing for women to be forced to marry in the 1800s. The two women that surround her, they are not crying with her, they are comforting her almost as if they are consoling her. They are holding her hand in a hopeful gesture as if they are congratulating her.
The opposite of the fiancée is the young girl on the other side. The girl shows the innocence that comes with being a girl, where society tells her that marriage is her destiny, that it is her dream, and that marriage is her future.Finally, the fiancée sees the romanticization vs. the reality of the situation.
The girl is wearing the bride's crown. She may be envisioning her own future wedding. The bride and the girl have been forced expectations of what they should be and what they should become.
The painting is a unique representation of the social pressures that women face as a result of being a woman. These pressures are not as prevalent today as they were in the past, but they are still present in the lives of women today.
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Auguste Toulmouche
La Fiancée Hésitante (The Hesitant Fiancée)
Date: 1866
Style: Academicism
Genre: genre painting
Media: oil, canvas
Location: Private Collection
Dimensions: 65 x 54 cm
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I finished my painting final!
It was due earlier than I thought so I had to speed run finishing it up…but I did it!
I’m changing my major next year so I prolly won’t be taking any painting classes anymore…I wish I had my own studio to paint in cause doing clean up at home is so annoying
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‘The Hesitant Fiancée’ by Auguste Toulmouche, c. 1866.
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Me, While I sit and observe, overwhelmed by the feeling of powerlessness, as if there is nothing I can do to bring about change in this society. I sit and observe. As I see more people complying, accepting their “fate”. As people break their spirits completely, distracted by lavish matters, just to not see the truth; like alcoholics. Waiting for the liquid to make them forget. Waiting in awe at this Dread. Glamorous filthy “reality”. We are waiting for the impending doom of humanity. We all sit and wait for something.
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The hesitant fiance, August Toulmouche, 1866
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Excuse me...I'm gonna f**king end you. :D
Love the depiction of rage and anger in situations which rarely show/depict a negative emotion...
[Auguste Toulmouche: The Reluctant Bride/The Hesitant Fiancée, c. 1866, oil on canvas.]
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the fact I’ll probably never see “the hesitant fiancée” (or “the reluctant bride” according to some translations) in person has me seething
look at her!! come on!
I need to behold this in a gilded frame in a way that would make my younger museum self proud
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I cannot explain why, but this piece of art is one of my absolute favourites. It’s called the hesitant fiancée and it was painted by Auguste Toulmouche in 1855.
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