Panel Talk: Becoming a Woman

In her seminal 1949 book The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir famously explained that “one is not born, but becomes a woman.” It is this idea that lies at the heart of the exhibition Becoming a Woman in the Age of Enlightenment: French Art from The Horvitz Collection. Join guest curator Melissa Hyde alongside scholars of 18th-century French history and literature for an exploration of women’s roles in that era and today. Moderated by Crocker curator William Breazeale and co-presented by the Alliance Française of Sacramento.

Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Seated Lady in a Garden, n.d. Oil on canvas, 39 3/8 x 35 7/16 in. The Horvitz Collection.