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Although the arrangement of the eighteenth-century Georgian house originally reflected male interests, the influence of women was increasingly evident by the second half of the century. Already in the seventeenth century, it had become customary for the sexes to separate after dinner; while the men preoccupied themselves with brandy and cigars in the dining room, women would exit to a “withdrawing room” for their own conversation. In the course of the eighteenth century, the drawing room became a larger, more feminine room with comfortable pieces of furniture grouped casually in front of fireplaces to create a cozy atmosphere.

Aristocratic landowners, especially in Britain, also sought to expand the open space around their country houses to separate themselves from the lower classes in the villages and to remove farmland from their view. Often these open spaces were then enclosed by walls to create parks (as they were called in England) to provide even more privacy. Sometimes entire villages were destroyed to create a park, causing one English poet to lament the social cost:

The man of wealth and pride

Takes up the space that many poor supplied;

Space for his lake, his park’s extended bounds,

Space for his horses, equipage and hounds.8

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IMAGES OF EVERYDAY LIFE

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The Aristocratic Way of Life

© Collection Earl of Pembroke, Wilton House, UK/The Bridgeman Art Library

Louvre, Paris//© Scala/Art Resource, NY

Alnwick Castle, Northumberland//© Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

Staatliche Schloesser und Gaerten, Karlsruhe//© Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

The eighteenth-century country house in Britain fulfilled the desire of aristocrats for both elegance and greater privacy. The painting above at the left, by Richard Wilson, shows a typical English country house of the eighteenth century surrounded by a simple, serene landscape.

Thomas Gainsborough’s Conversation in the Park, above right, captures the relaxed life of two aristocrats in the park of their country estate. The illustration at the left below shows the formal dining room of a great British country house. In the course of the eighteenth century, upper-class country houses came to be furnished with upholstered furniture and elaborate carpets as aristocrats sought greater comfort. Cabinets with glass windows also became fashionable as a way to display fine china and other objects. Especially desirable were objects from the East as vast amounts of Chinese and Japanese ceramics were imported into Europe in the eighteenth century. The illustration at the right below shows Chinese cups without handles, which became extremely fashionable. As seen in the painting, it was even acceptable to pour tea into the saucer in order to cool it.

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Along with a sense of privacy, parks gave landed aristocrats the ability to reshape their property to meet their leisure needs.

THE ARISTOCRATIC WAY OF LIFE: THE GRAND TOUR One characteristic of the high culture of the Enlightenment was its cosmopolitanism, reinforced by education in the Latin classics and the use of French as an international language. Travel was another manifestation of the Enlightenment’s sophistication and interest in new vistas. One important aspect of eighteenth-century travel was the grand tour, in which the sons of aristocrats completed their education by making a tour of Europe’s major cities. The English aristocracy in particular regarded the grand tour as crucial to their education. The great-aunt of Thomas Coke wrote to him upon his completion of school: “Sir, I understand you have left Eton and probably intend to go to one of those Schools of Vice, the Universities. If, however, you choose to travel I will give you 500 pounds [about $12,500] per annum.”9 Coke was no fool and went on the grand tour, along with many others. In one peak year alone, 40,000 Englishmen were traveling in Europe.

Travel was not easy in the eighteenth century. Crossing the English Channel could be difficult