Women in the 19C United States of America: Louisiana paintings by French-born Jean Joseph Vaudechamp 1790

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Louisiana paintings by French-born Jean Joseph Vaudechamp 1790–1866

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) Mme Francoise St Amant

French-born Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (1790–1866) was a was a pupil of Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson. In the winter of 1831–32, he sailed to New Orleans, Louisiana, seeking his fortune. Many of the Louisiana Creoles identified with French culture & selected Vaudechamp to paint portraits for them. Over the next 10 years, he spent mostly winters in New Orleans, painting popular portraits of the locals.

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) Lady in White Dress

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) A Creole Lady

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) Edmond Jeane Forstall and Desirae Forstall

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) Mrs Samuel Bell

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) Mrs Antoine Julien Meffre-Rouzan

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) Daughter of Samuel Hermann

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) Marie Emeranthe Becnel Brou Madame Samuel Herman

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) A Young Lady

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) Woman with Fur Collar

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) Two Children

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) Mrs Louis Edouard Forstall ( Mathilde Plauche)

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) Madame Morales de Marigny

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) Woman with Fur Boa

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French-born New Orleans artist, 1790–1866) Fanny Augusta Hunt

About this blog

In colonial America, men were considered superior to woman in all ways. In a strict patriarchal hierarchy, men controlled not only wealth & political power but also how their children were raised, religious questions, & all matters of right & wrong.

In the early part of the 19Cy, however, many Americans experienced a revolution in gender. The doctrine of “separate spheres” maintained that woman’s sphere was the world of privacy, family, & morality while man’s sphere was the public world -– economic striving, political maneuvering, & social competition. But women were interested in equality.

In 1848, New York passed the Married Woman’s Property Act. Now a woman wasn’t automatically liable for her husband’s debts; she could enter contracts on her own; she could collect rents or receive an inheritance in her own right; she could file a lawsuit on her own behalf. She became for economic purposes, an individual. By 1900, every state has passed legislation modeled after this, granting married women some control over their property and earnings.

In 1870 after the Civi War, the 15th Amendment was ratified, saying, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” African-Americans could vote, but women could not.

But it was not until 1920, that the 19th Amendment was ratified granting women the right to vote. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”