ART & DRESS

overview

What did Jane Austen truly look like, and what can her portrait tell us about status, identity and society in 18th-century Britain?

With only a handful of authenticated images, including a modest sketch by her sister Cassandra that obscures her face, Austen’s visual identity remains ambiguous. However, through interpreting both her rare portraits and the wider context of 18th-century British portraiture – where clothing, posture and setting conveyed as much as facial expression – a richer visual understanding of Austen emerges. From the refined canvases of Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds to the allegorical works of Angelica Kauffmann, dress became a powerful visual language of its own.

Join Anne Harbers for a fascinating look at how costume communicates character in both portraiture and prose – and how Jane Austen’s image continues to invite reading between the lines.