18th century blog

Marie Antoinette (1938)
I really liked this movie. It focuses mostly on the revolution and the latter part of Marie Antoinette’s life, and everything before is kind of rushed by. The second half of the movie is also the best part. I would have really loved it if they put as much focus on the “happy” part of her life as well since that is my favourite part, but the sad part kind of makes up for it.

I loved Norma Shearer as Marie Antoinette, she behaved very much like I imagine the real Antoinette. And I think she looked a bit like the original as well. She was really the best thing about the movie. I felt the portrayal of Louis XVI was a bit too comical in comparison to the rest of the movie, his acting didn’t fit in with the others.

The costumes are not that historically correct for the most part, but I don’t really care because they’re absolutely gorgeous. It’s a very beautiful movie. More pictures after the cut.

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Portrait by Jean-Louis Voille.

Empress consort of Russia Maria Feodorovna on Wikipedia.

More portraits after the cut.

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Portrait by Joshua Reynolds.

Poet, novelist and the first public mistress of George IV. Mary Robinson on Wikipedia.

More portraits after the cut.

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British portrait painter Joshua Reynolds on Wikipedia.

More of his paintings after the cut.

Edit: Updated this post with new paintings and better quality pictures.

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The Madness of King George is a good movie, but fashion wise it’s not extremely interesting. There are only a few scenes with lavish court dress, and the rest is pretty much the king in his underwear. It’s still worth seeing for those few bits of court fashion though, lots of big hair! And Lady Pembroke is really gorgeous.

A few more pictures after the cut.

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Georgiana on Wikipedia.

More portraits of Georgiana after the cut.

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British portrait painter Thomas Gainsborough on Wikipedia.

See more Gainsborough paintings after the cut.

Edit: Updated this post with new and better quality pictures.

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A dramatized documentary about Mozart, with great costumes. Continued after the cut.

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En bädd av dun by Christopher O’Regan
This is a book about life at the court of Gustav III of Sweden, and also quite a bit about Gustav himself. I thought it was great. Fun to read and lots of interesting facts and stories. It is illustrated with paintings and drawings from the period, and also a few photographs of people dressed like 18th century people and of existing costumes and items from the 18th century. This book exists only in Swedish as far as I know.

Queen of Fashion by Caroline Weber
I got this book for Christmas and really really loved it. It tells Marie Antoinette’s story through her clothes. Lots of interesting information about 18th century fashion, and a very engaging biography. Not the slightest bit boring. It doesn’t have many pictures at all though so don’t expect a lot of illustrations. I highly recommend it.

Amadeus by Milos Forman may not be all that accurate when it comes to costuming, or anything else for that matter, but really, who cares in this case. To me it’s one of the best movies ever, with amazing actors, and the overall feel and look is fantastic. There are four more pictures after the cut.

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