Merveilleuse: Chapeau à l’Anglaise, Spencer à l’Anglaise

Art Historical Context

In 1814, amid the Bourbon Restoration following Napoleon's abdication, French fashion enthusiasts embraced this hand-colored engraving titled *Merveilleuse: Chapeau à l’Anglaise, Spencer à l’Anglaise*. Created by painter Horace Vernet and engraver Georges Jacques Gatine it exemplifies the vibrant fashion plates that popularized high-style trends among Europe's elite women. The "Merveilleuse"—a nod to the glamorous, neoclassical beauties of the late 1790s Directory period—here sports an "English hat" (a wide-brimmed chapeau à l’anglaise) and a tailored spencer jacket, reflecting Anglo-inspired simplicity and elegance that contrasted with the opulent Empire silhouette. Hand-coloring elevated these engravings from mere illustrations to coveted collectibles, with delicate washes of watercolor adding lifelike vibrancy to fabrics and feathers. Produced on a modest sheet (16 3/16 × 10 11/16 in.), this print from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department captures the era's cultural shift: English influences symbolized post-Revolutionary restraint and emerging Romanticism in women's attire. These plates were more than art—they were trendsetters, disseminated via albums to mantua-makers and magazines, shaping wardrobes across social classes and bridging art with everyday aspiration. A charming window into Regency-era glamour!