In French master Auguste Toulmouche's “La Fiancée Hesitante” (The Reluctant Bride), a bride sits in immaculate, opulent white, surrounded by two women comforting her. It is her eyes that shatter this soft scene — rebellious, disgruntled. Painted in 1866, the canvas has attained newfound popularity as a depiction of female rage. The painting is now trending across social media platforms, including Tiktok, Facebook and Instagram. The artwork While little has been published on the artwork and the identity of the bride remains a mystery, Toulmouche's ostensibly wealthy protagonist is dressed in a fur-trimmed high-neck silk gown, staring intently at her viewers. The theatrical setting is defined by rich furnishings that emphasise the height of the room, with intricate tapestries. The canvas was reportedly exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1866 and Exposition Universelle of 1867 in Paris. Toulmouche was a practitioner of the Romantic movement, characterised by emphasis on emotion and individualism and glorification of the past and nature. He specialised in fashion painting, also referred to as costume painting, a style popular in 19th-century Paris that depicted elaborate garments, rich furniture, grand rooms, and luxurious interiors. Other artists associated with this genre include Jules Emile Saintin and Charles Joseph Frederick Soulacroix. The artist Born in Nantes, France, in 1829, Toulmouche was only 17 when he left home for Paris, where he joined the studio of the Swiss artist Charles Gleyre. Gleyre had trained several impressionists artists of the time, including Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Receiving early recognition, by 1848 Toulmouche had exhibited at the prestigious Paris art Salon, the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. As a practitioner of costume paintings, he found patrons among the upper middle class and his works were reportedly acquired by Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie de Montijo. Married to Monet's cousin, Toulmouche guided the young artist when he arrived in Paris in 1862. Though he remained an academic painter and continued to be influenced by the standards of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts, there was subtle incorporation of Japanese elements in his images in the 1870s, evident in works such as Afternoon Idyll (1874). Appointed Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur (France's highest civilian honour) in 1870, his works are in prestigious museum collections across the world, including the Louvre and Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nantes. Why the artwork is trending While Toulmouche is not as celebrated as several of his contemporaries outside of France, in the last month La Fiancée Hesitante has found a huge following on social media, with several shares on platforms like Facebook and Twitter and several pages on Instagram dedicated to the artwork. Numerous memes have surfaced. While some express how they share Toulmouche's bride's disillusionment with confining gender roles, others feel that the agitated bride, staring directly at the viewers, is reluctant about arranged marriage, a practice commonplace in 19th century France. Many are also hailing the bride for not shrouding her emotions behind a smile.
