Image:Henry-Nelson-O'Neil Before-Waterloo 1868.jpg

[edit] Summary

"Before Waterloo", by Henry Nelson O'Neil (1868); this presumably attempts to depict the Duchess of Richmond's famous ball on the eve of the battle of Waterloo (as dramatized in Thackeray's Vanity Fair).

This is an "anti-Regency" picture, since the artist seems to be intentionally avoiding depicting women's fashion styles that would be accurate to the year 1815. Instead, the women's clothing shown seems to be based on elements of 1830's and early 1860's fashions, and shows no particular resemblance to the actual styles of 1815 (except perhaps in having a slightly highish waistline). In those mid-Victorian days, before the rise of Kate Greenaway and the "Artistic Dress movement", it seems likely that some sober-minded people would have felt slightly uncomfortable to be reminded that their mothers or grandmothers had once promenaded about in Directoire/Empire/Regency fashions (which could be considered indecent according to Victorian norms) -- and that many would have found it somewhat difficult to really empathize with (or take seriously) the struggles of a heroine of art or literature if they were being constantly reminded that she was wearing such styles.

Image scanned by "Nick C"@fsnet, manipulated by H. Churchyard.

[edit] Licensing

This is a faithful photographic reproduction of an original two-dimensional work of art. The original image comprising the work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason: This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, Canada, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years. Note that a few countries have copyright terms longer than 70 years: Mexico has 100 years, Colombia has 80 years, and Guatemala and Samoa have 75 years. This image may not be in the public domain in these countries, which moreover do not implement the rule of the shorter term. Côte d'Ivoire has a general copyright term of 99 years and Honduras has 75 years, but they do implement that rule of the shorter term. العربية | Asturianu | Български | Català | Česky | Dansk | Deutsch | English | Ελληνικά | Esperanto | Español | Euskara | فارسی | Français | Gaeilge | Galego | עברית | हिन्दी | Bahasa Indonesia | Italiano | 日本語 | 한국어 | Kurdî / كوردی | Lietuvių | Magyar | Nederlands | ‪Norsk (nynorsk)‬ | Bahasa Melayu | Polski | Português | Română | Русский | Slovenčina | Slovenščina | Shqip | Suomi | Sámegiella | Türkçe | ‪中文(简体)‬ | ‪中文(繁體)‬ | 粵語 | +/- Under United States copyright law, originality of expression is necessary for copyright protection, and a mere photograph of an out-of-copyright work may not be protected under U.S.copyright law. This photograph was taken in the U.S. or in another country where a similar rule applies (for a list of allowable countries, see Commons:When to use the PD-Art tag#Country-specific rules). This photographic reproduction is therefore also in the public domain. العربية | Česky | Deutsch | English | Ελληνικά | Español | فارسی | Français | עברית | Bahasa Indonesia | Italiano | 日本語 | 한국어 | Magyar | Nederlands | Polski | Português | Română | Русский | Slovenščina | Српски / Srpski | Basa Sunda | Türkçe | Українська | ‪中文(繁體)‬ | ‪中文(简体)‬ | +/-

• 1795-1820 in fashion