It’s been a few weeks since the internet users saw the little-known work of the artist Auguste Tulmuch, on which the bride-to-be wears a furious expression. A picture that they distort again and again on social networks.
“The new icon of feminism … is 157 years old,” declared journalist Mathilde Serrell in her column broadcast on France Inter this Thursday, November 30. The purpose of this lozenge. Table The wavering bride – whose title is sometimes translated into English as The reluctant bride or The reluctant bride -, which was created in 1866 by the French artist Auguste Toulmouch and which went viral on social networks. We see a young woman dressed in a wedding dress, sitting on an armchair and looking angrily at the viewer. The main interested party clearly has no desire to get married. Next to him are two friends or relatives who try to comfort him as much as possible. One kisses his forehead, the other holds his hand. A true “sorority” movement is highlighted by Matilda Serrell. In this picture, a third young woman appears alien to the scene and rearranges her flower crown in front of the mirror, looking happy.
Sexist expressions
This little-known work of an artist who had little success during the Second Empire could be forgotten. That’s without taking into account the TikTok video posted by the @adownif3rta account on November 5. A post in which the netizen flipped the picture accompanied by the humorous caption, “Literally me when I’m right.” All with red-hot tunes Dies Irae “Day of Rage” – Giuseppe Verdi. The post has since been “liked” more than 1.1 million times. She also encouraged the emergence of the hashtag #therelucantbride, which has more than 47.5 million views on the social network. Hashtag under which Internet users are now having fun scrolling the picture at will.
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Many women have actually recognized themselves in the irritated expression of the cursed bride who must be grateful to her family for what they have forced upon her. Some netizens shared the table decorated with the song again Ira dies citing the sexist expressions they are sometimes subjected to and to which they respond with the same outraged expression. “You’d be prettier if you smiled,” writes someone named Shay Genzler. Before returning to the image of the reluctant bride and answering. “Me when I smile.” Or even “Could you put on a little more makeup”, “You’re too sensitive”, and “When will the babies be born”… so many comments to which the “bride” responds with her own silent indignation.
“He really shows his feelings”
A one-of-a-kind painting that was already unique at the time of its creation. Auguste Thulmuch painted high-society Parisian women with academic realism, while Claude Monet and Edouard Manet in turn wore the colors of the Impressionist movement. Furthermore, it was quite rare at the time to see a character looking directly at the viewer, which today could be described as a “camera gaze”. Therese Dolan, an American professor of modern and contemporary art, was interviewed by The New York Times , in turn confirms that the young woman’s expression is unusual for a picture of this period. “She really shows her feelings, the fact that she doesn’t want to marry the man her family, visibly rich, has chosen for her. “, he emphasizes. And if this picture appeared recently, it may also be due to the evolution of the view that young women now have about marriage, he emphasizes. New York Times.
Source: Le Figaro
