Style Imitating Art | “Allegory of Astronomy” by Joseph Fratrel

May the Fourth be with you…it is time for yet another art inspired outfit!

About Style Imitating Art

Style Imitating Art is hosted by Salazar of 14 Shades of Grey, Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge, and Marsha of Marsha in the Middle. It challenges us to draw style inspiration from pieces of art. Every other Monday, one of the hosts, acting as presenter, selects an inspiration image that they will each post on their blogs. The following Monday, each host shares her art inspired outfit. Participants are invited to submit their art inspired outfits to the presenter by 10:00 p.m. EST on the Tuesday following the hosts’ art inspired outfit posts. The following day, Wednesday, the presenter will share all of the submissions on her blog.

You don’t have to be a blogger to join either! In fact, you don’t even have to join but you can still use the art to inspire an outfit just for the sake of trying something different. If you want to share your inspired outfit, we invite you do so on Instagram or any other social media platform that you prefer. Just be sure to tag Salazar, Shelbee, or Marsha so we know you have joined. Go have some fun in your closets and join the SIA challenge next week!

This Week’s Presenter

Wanting to return to something a more classical, Salazar chose this week’s art inspiration. She really loves anything with celestial references and since today is Star Wars Day, a star-themed painting is very appropriate! 

The Artwork

“Allegory of Astronomy” by Joseph Fratrel

About the Artist: Joseph Fratrel

Born in Épinal, France, in 1730, Joseph Fratrel was a distinguished painter and etcher in his native country and became the official court painter for King Stanislaus and the Elector-Palatine Charles Theodore.

There is very little documented in historical archives about Fratrel’s family and upbringing. However, some sources indicate that his parents had intended him for a legal career, suggesting that he came from a middle class family which focused on professional stability over achievement in the arts. With no relatives in the arts and familial expectations of a career in law, historians credit his personal drive toward painting and etching to the cultural environment in provincial Lorraine.

In 1750 and 1752, Fratrel traveled to Paris to study miniature painting under the Rococo painter Pierre-Antoine Baudouin. These visits to Paris marked his official shift from legal studies to the arts. While studying in Paris, he gained exposure to the workshops offered in the city which taught him the principles of drawing and composition that were essential to the Rococo style of reproductive printmaking. Using this foundation of knowledge, Fratrel became a proficient etcher, adapting line work and tonal modeling that was influenced by Baudouin’s methods.

In the mid 1750s, after completing his training in Paris, Fratrel returned to Lorraine where he accepted a professor of painting position at the Académie de Metz. There he began a professional career in creating minor portraits and etchings for local patrons with a specialization in miniature portraiture. He was quickly appointed as the official miniature painter to the court of King Stanislaus in 1754, remaining in that position until the king’s death in 1766. At this time, Fratrel moved to Mannheim, Germany, where he was appointed as the court miniaturist and history painter to Elector Palatine Charles Theodore.

In this prestigious German position, Fratrel became a teacher at the academies of Mannheim and Düsseldorf while focusing on the production of state portraits and allegorical works that served as propaganda art. He also began experimenting with wax-oil painting and published a manual on the technique in 1770.

No verified accounts exist to confirm if Fratrel ever married or had any children but his multiple residences do suggest his professional mobility. While he was perfecting his painting and etching skills, he did maintain an ongoing interest in law and was dually employed as a jurist during his time as a court appointed painter of miniatures.

Joseph Fratrel died on May 15, 1783, in Mannheim, likely from natural causes. He was 53 years old.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has this very cool biography of Joseph Fratrel from 1799. It is written in French and the font is really difficult to read so I didn’t get very far, but it looks awesome!

About the Artwork: “Allegory of Astronomy”

“Allegory of Astronomy” (or “Allegorie auf die Sternenkunde”) is a wax and oil painting on canvas created in 1780, during Fratrel’s German phase. It measures 25 x 20.8 inches (63.5 x 52.8 cm) and is on permanent loan at the Reiss Engelhorn Museum in Mannheim, Germany.

The painting illustrates a female figure dressed in stars as the personification of the science of astronomy. In the 18th century thematic tradition of representing scientific discoveries, the central female figure is meant to embody Urania, the Muse of Astronomy, while she holds a celestial globe. This allegorical painting is a great example of the fascination with scientific studies during the Enlightenment.

Helpful Links:

• Wikipedia: Joseph Fratrel
• Wikimedia Commons: Joseph Fratrel Allegory of Astronomy
• Grokipedia: Joseph Fratrel
• Philadelphia Museum of Art: Biography and Table of Contents-Joseph Fratrel

About My Outfit

As I mentioned in last Monday’s SIA post, we have previously featured 5 different celestial themed artworks…The Nebra Sky Disk, Frederic Edwin Church’s Aurora Borealis, Solar System Quilt by Ellen Harding Baker, Susan Musgrove’s “Race for the Moon” and the Eise Eisinga Planetarium. So I first looked at those five outfits to see if any of the individual elements could be restyled in a different way for this challenge.

Inspired by the woman’s black dress with silver stars on the bodice, I instantly leaned into my black dress with the silver stars on the skirt, which I wore for the Eise Eisinga Planetarium round. The lady’s bodice looks like it’s trimmed in black velvet which reminded me of my black velvet boots with the gold stars, which I wore for the Solar System Quilt round.

With those two main pieces in place, I built the rest of my outfit from there. To mimic the woman’s white sleeves ornamented in gold, I layered my white blouse with gold lighting bolts beneath my dress. Then I added a wide black belt and was tickled by how much the buckle resembles a crescent moon. Black tights were necessary because, yes, it is still quite cold here.

As a nod to the teal colored celestial globe and the bits of gold ornamentation trimming the woman’s garb, I draped a thrifted scarf in teal and gold over my shoulders. Then I added a multilayered teal necklace, also a thrift store find. Because two necklaces are better than one, I also wore my wire wrapped crystal moon necklace and completed my outfit with dangly moon earrings.

I attempted to style my hair in a similar way to the girl in the painting. I started with a simple bun and then tried a bunch of different headbands but they all looked ridiculous. So I ditched the headband idea and left my hair in my shower bun! Ha.

It’s definitely not my favorite outfit (or hairstyle), but I don’t hate it (I do hate my shower bun). I don’t love it either (the outfit). I probably wouldn’t wear it anywhere. But it definitely worked for this art inspiration so I am very pleased with the outcome. Sometimes it’s okay to play dress up just for the sake of playing dress up. Because it is important to nurture our souls by doing the things that bring us joy. A good game of dress up always brings me joy!

I hope you have enjoyed this round of Style Imitating Art. Be sure to check out how Salazar and Marsha have styled this celestial allegory. If you would like to participate in this Style Imitating Art challenge and have your outfit included in Salazar’s round up post on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, please be sure to send your photos to her at 14shadesofgreyblog@gmail.com by 10:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, May 5, 2026.

Happy styling!

Shelbee