After the Ball

In light of the fact that I was up far later than I planned, and my kitchen has been monstrously messy because none of us can be bothered to load the dishwasher before we go to bed at 3am.  Anyways, I was doing some research for my final literature project (I'm not sure how to refer to it, probably just the "ball project" makes the most sense, as the title is Dance Culture in 19th Century Literature) and came across this painting:

After the Ball, Charles Chaplin

 Isn't she adorable?  I was completely amused by the whole scene: adorable bewildered maid walking into the midst of upturned objects and discarded clothing.  If my house were less of a dorm and more of a mid-19th-century-imagines-18th-century home, this is exactly the scene that greets the first housemate up the morning after a night out.
Which made me continue to dig, and I found a pair to this painting!

Before the Ball, Charles Chaplin

This is also extremely reminiscent of my house...particularly of me.  I love clothes, and I tend to dress up even for a night in, just for fun.  So I continued to look at art related to going out, and I found some lovely things.  How many of these scenes look familiar to your life?

Before the Ball, Boris Kustodiev

Before the Ball, Jan Portielje

Yay! Shoes! I love that this one is mid-action.

After the Ball, Alfred Stevens (1874)

After the Ball, Armand Doree

After the Ball, Charles Baugniet

After the Ball, Marie Girard (1869)

 This is one of my favorites! Check out her cute blue shoes and her swans down trimmed cape!  Of course, the red velvet chaise isn't bad either...

After the Ball, Julia Stewart

And of course, it isn't just the ladies who have danced themselves to exhaustion.  Here is one particularly worn out gentleman:

After the Ball, Jean Fourian

So tired he neglected to remove his shoes before lying down!  Finally, here's a last one I came across that was a different image from the morning after:

Duel After the Ball, Gerome

Maybe a disagreement over a partner? Oh dear.  Not that I haven't witnessed some duel-worthy drama at college events.  And to be fair, we do have a dueling club...

...ah, well.  Time for pancakes.  Now if I can only convince everyone in the house to go out dressed like the ladies in these paintings, we really shall be recreating art.