The Farewell (Les Adieux)

vermeld op object · 1777

A woman, in sumptuous dress à la française, enters her loge at the opera. While her husband, at left, drags her inside, she lingers on the threshold to allow her paramour to kiss her hand, with the servant girl behind them as a lookout. This plate – in fact a fashion print – is a witty snapshot of taste and lifestyle in 18th-century France.