Marie Antoinette had Pouf
How a French Queen made Political Statements
Marie Antoinette was one of the more memorable figures in French history, if not the world.
The former Queen of France was ultimately guillotined back in 1793. Something to do with not being liked by the citizenry because of her lavish spending and harbouring sympathies for Frances’ enemies, including Austria, her country of origin.
It also didn’t help that she fled Paris for Varennes with her husband, King Louis XVI, and their family during the French Revolution. The famous family was recognized en route to Austria and were arrested. Ouch!
History can be fascinating.
When she was alive and well, and living like royalty, she wasn’t shy about making political statements with elaborate headdresses, or what’s called a pouf.
And so it goes, there was a French frigate called La Belle Poule that was involved in a clash with the British in 1778. King Louis XVI had sided with the rebels in the American Revolution, and although his boat won the battle, that victory spelled the beginning of the end for the French since it turned out to be a long and financially crippling war.
Fast forward to the 21st century… the extravagant pouf that adorned the now deceased Marie Antoinette, has served as an inspiration to photographer, Alexia Sinclair, who has created an equally extravagant replica of the pouf, as if La Belle Poule still sails, but this time on the ‘sea’ of a models hair.
Remarkable.
