Time Travelers

A few days ago with class we visited Palazzo Vecchio. The Palazzo was built between the 13th and 14th centuries. The interior is absolutely stunning with many gorgeous ceiling and frescoes. The Salone dei Cinquecento decorated by Michelangelo and Leonardo. Throughout you can feel the grandeur representing Florence. 

We then traveled back in time to meet Elenora of Toledo. She wore a red silk velvet dress as she had an important political event to attend after and was supposed to convey the wealth of Florence. Underneath she wore a few layers of undergarments, most notably a corset which she requested to be very tight. She had her hair up in a bun covered with a net to show that she was no longer a virgin. She wore what appeared to be extremely tall flat high heels yet we were informed they were quite short for the time. During this time the fashions of different countries start to distinguish themselves more. Italy style followed the Spanish yet there was a great use of color. Florence became one of the main centers for production of high style after the marriage of Casimo I to Eleonora.

Eleonora’s style was perfectly in line with her rule. She had a strong political consciousness that was capable and firm. Together with her husband she introduced court apparel and protocol. She personally examined many prestigious and luxurous items to show her power.

During our meeting Eleonora commented how no one in our group was married and how we were dressed like men. It was very interesting to compare and contrast the differences from now to Renaissance times. I think some of us were a bit intimidated by the Duchess yet overall everyone had a wonderful trip back in time and great learning experience.
By: Marisa Silber

When In Rome

When I was in Rome there were a ton of “Roman soldiers” in front of the Coliseum. The photogenic soldiers were dressed in red and gold outfits that comprised of a breast place, pleated skirt, helmet, and shield. This had me wondering what the actual dress of the Roman soldier was.

The Roman Army, at the peak of its power, conquered what we now call England/Wales, Spain, France, most of Germany, the northern coast of Africa, the Middle East and Greece. The lowest level of soldier in the Roman Army was the legionnaire. Between 5000 and 6000 legionaries made up a legion that was commanded by a legatus. Legionnaires were trained to fight in a disciplined and well coordinated manner. A whole legion could be punished for failing to fight well in battle even if they won the battle.

There were 3 main weapons that a legionnaire took into battle; the pilum, the galdius, and the pugio. The pilum was similar to the javelin today. This weapon was meant to be thrown at the enemy to disrupt their line of defense. The gladius was the main weapon during battle. The gladius was a very sharp blade sword. Lastly the pugio was a small dagger which was used a last resort. The legionnaire also carried a shield known as a scutum.

The basic clothing including the tunic or cloaks of the Roman soldier was either red dyed with madder or undyed material giving an off-white color. Braccae is the Latin term for trousers, a style of pants, made from wool, which became popular with soldiers in the colder climates of the Empire. The Military Tunic (Tunica) was a wide, shirt-like, undergarment made of a long piece of rectangular cloth usually made of wool, cotton or linen depending on the climate. The tunic was made with great care to the exact length considered correct for the rank of the wearer. Pteruges, (aka pteryges) from Greek word meaning feathers, refers to the decorative strips of leather (lappets) which hung below the waist and from the shoulders of Roman legionaries. The skirt or apron was made up of leather strips and heavily studded with metal. Offering little protection, the apron would have been used as a display and as a source of noise. The Roman Soldiers also used the apron / skirt as decoration by attaching tokens and discs to signify the campaigns he had fought in. The protective armor covered the clothes of the soldier and consisted of the helmet (galea) was made of metal (usually iron), shoulder, arm and leg guards. The socks (udones) were quite common apparel sometimes worn without a toe or heel. Leg wrappings or leg bindings (puttees) were strips of material wrapped from the ankle up to the calf of the leg.

While the costumes of the “Roman soldiers” outside the Coliseum are clearly not perfect replicas they definitely show elements of the true Roman soldier attire.

By: Marisa Silber

The Origins of Dress History and Cesare Vecellio’s ‘pourtraits of attire’

Reading 5A entitled, The Origins of Dress History and Cesare Vecellio’s ‘pourtraits of attire’, follows the creation of Cesare Vecellio’s masterpiece novel “ON ANCIENT and Modern Dress from Divers Parts of the World”.  This book is credited with being one of the first explanations of dress in modern history.

Cesare Vecellio spent the early portions of his life as a warrior for the Kingdom of Venice. After returning from war Vecellio noticed that many other cultures had begun to influence and change the traditional Italian dress, in particular France. Vecellio began to investigate the cause of this change. Vecellio was able to draw a parallel between political instability and the inconsistency of dress in Italy.

These discoveries were of particular interest to Vecellio, due to the fact that the average Venetian male dressed almost entirely in black outerwear. Venice, being a rich and powerful trading port was frequented by a large foreign and transient population. By wearing black the local Venetians were able to easily differentiate themselves from the non-locals with foreign garb. Conversely other cities were seeing a proliferation of foreign clothing into their societies.

Around the late 16^th century, Vecellio ran his own printing-press in Venice and began making his own volumes, print, and woodcuts on various styles that caught his interest. Unlike most of the descriptive books at the time, which only gave a small subtitle about what was being describe, Vecellio was known for going into explicit and exact detail about every part of what he was describing.

Eventually these woodcarvings and small volumes were brought together to be the first edition of his masterpiece work. The book successfully examined costume from Ancient Rome to Modern Italy, as well as some sides on costume in other distant civilizations. This book is today a cherished work for its unparreled insight into the costume of the 16^th Century. 


David Ojserkis

Paper #1 - Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione

             

While walking through the Louvre museum, I stumbled upon a painting in the Italian artists wing that featured a costume that very much intrigued me. Created between 1514 and 1515, the Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione is an oil on canvas painting by High Renaissance painter, Raphael. Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, or Raphael, was a High Renaissance painter and architect who was considered one of greatest Italian painters of the time. He is best known for his Madonna paintings as well as his painting, The School of Athens, which is located in Vatican City. Although Raphael has an appreciation for feminine beauty which is visible in a majority of his artwork, the portrait I chose to write about contains a male figure instead.

The man in the painting is Baldassare Castiglione. He was born in Casatico in 1478 and spent most of his life living between Milan and Urbino, where he eventually met his good friend, Raphael. After becoming a diplomat in the court of Urbino, Castiglione, who was also an author, wrote an influential book called The Book of the Courtier that helped shaped the Italian Renaissance and the men of the time. Raphael painted this portrait of him when Castiglione was thirty six years old. Always known for his good manners and extensive knowledge in all things cultural, such as music and arts, Castiglione's book explained to men how to be a “Renaissance Man,” or someone who is well-educated, well-mannered, and has an extensive knowledge in a wide variety of subjects.

In the painting, Baldassare Castiglione is wearing traditional Renaissance fashion from the time period. During this time, men typically wore four main articles of clothing. The first was a chemise, or a linen shirt which was usually white and worn as the first layer of clothing. Depending on your social class, the chemise would be made of different materials. For the upper class, the shirt would be made of fine linen or even silk. The second item was a doublet. This article of clothing was a form fitting jacket that was worn over the linen shirt and could be worn with or without sleeves. Worn over all these pieces was the jacket. The jacket would sometimes feature fake, hanging sleeves that served served no functional purpose. Although not visible in this painting, hose was another key item of clothing for men. During this time hose was attached to the doublet and woven tightly as to remain a smooth appearance.

As a first layer of clothing, Castiglione appears to be wearing a chemise with a high neckline. It looks as though it has some gathering detail at the neckline because of the voluminous, billowing effect it causes on his chest. Baldassare Castiglione is also wearing a doublet on top of his white, linen shirt. His doublet is black with grey accents and a ribbon detail across the chest. Since Castiglione was apart of the Courts, it was said that grey and white squirrel furs were most popular amongst the courtiers. His doublet seems to have a higher neckline with large, puffy sleeves of squirrel fur, which suggests that this painting was done in the colder months of the year. The fur has quite a texture that is almost velvety-looking in the painting. The fur trimming can also be seen across the waist and chest area as well. As a headpiece, Castiglione is wearing a hat that features soft, round lines. It looks like a beret-style hat that features a sort of pleating detail which gives it more angles and structure. In addition, under this beret, Castiglione is wearing a chaperon, or a sort of turban. This was common headgear for upper and middle class people of the time. It is hard to distinguish between both the beret and the turban in part because both headpieces are black.

During the Italian high renaissance, clothing tended to be billowy and layered like those seen in the Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione. Materials used for producing these garments changed depending on your social class, so nobility and the upper class had garments made of the finest silks, linens, furs, and velvets. Baldassare Castiglione's clothing helps to clearly define is status in society. Just by looking at someones clothing, you can determine what time period they lived in, what social class they were in, and what role they played in society during that time. With this man being known for such good manners, proper behavior, and appropriate dress, it is clear to see in this painting that that garments he is wearing clearly shows these facts. His garments are nearly perfect and precise. They are clean, luxurious-looking, and have subtle details, like the ribbon across the fur on his chest, that make him elegant, yet natural and simple. Baldassare Castiglione clearly represents an accomplished and well-rounded Renaissance man.

By: Caitlyn Schultz