Too much and too little or summer cloathing for 1556 & 1796, Isaac Cruikshank

Two ladies, one in elizabethan dress (left), the other (right) scantily draped, stand gazing at each other in astonishment, their heads turned in profile. One stands stiffly; her wide, heavily embroidered dress, with tight, pointed bodice, and a high ruff, makes this necessary. The other adopts a quasi-classical pose, one leg slightly bent. Her high-waisted dress drapes her breasts and falls to the ankles, defining her legs. She has short simple sleeves. A ribbon is twisted in her hair, which is curled on the crown of the head, whence tresses fall to her neck, and a feather stands erect. Her profile resembles that of bmsat 8896, perhaps lady c. Campbell. On the wall are two three-quarter length portraits of men in corresponding costume: a bearded man (left) wearing a ruff looks down to the right. On the right a modern dandy looks down and to the left, his chin swathed in voluminous folds, a wide collar turned back over his cut-away coat. A patterned carpet covers the floor. 8 february 1796 hand-coloured etching. Date: 1796. Dimensions: Height: 378 mm (cropped); Width: 290 mm (cropped). Medium: paper. Depicted People: Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Bury. Collection: British Museum. Too much and too little or summer cloathing for 1556 & 1796 (BM 1851,0901.778 1)