Reading Assignment - ‘And her black satin gown must be

Reading Assignment

‘And her black satin gown must be

new-bodied’: The Twenty-First-Century

Body in Pursuit of the Holbein Look’

Understanding the construction of an early sixteenth-century women’s dress presents many challenges. This following study used contemporary archeological, pictorial and documentary evidence to inform alternative experimental approaches to constructing the garments worn on a woman’s torso in the 1540s. The challenge lay in the disparity between contemporary portrayals of ladies in formal French gowns and the effect obtained by putting a modern woman into clothes which embodied current understanding of this style of dress. While the dangers of relying solely on portraiture as a source for costume reproduction are well known, the drawings and paintings of English sitters which were produced by Hans Holbein the Younger in the late 1530s and early 1540s do merit special consideration. First the survival of a considerable number of his works has ensured that his view of the ladies and gentlemen of the Tudor court has become representative of the age. Second Holbein was sufficiently aware of clothing to do a number of costume studies and was in his own time commended for capturing his subjects with such realism that it seemed as though the sites themselves were present. Whatever their size and shape, the ladies who sat to Holbein and his contemporaries seem to have had their gowns sprayed on to them. At first, the repeated practical experiments in varying the cut and boning of the reproduction gowns met with very limited success. Over the same period of time, however, increasingly detailed study was required in order to inform the interpreters about the nature and significance of their clothes. An interpreter should be able to refer to, for example, her ‘kirtle’ (as opposed to her ‘underdress’ or other modern term) and should be able to explain which features define it as a kirtle and which features might vary from one kirtle to another, whether this kirtle represents daily or special wear for her, how many kirtles she might have, how she would have obtained them, how much they would have cost and how long they might be expected to last. Although the archaeological survivals and the documentary evidence leave many questions unanswered, it seemed possible that a lady at the Henrician court might be wearing as many as five layers on her torso. No stone was left unturned in the search for the Holbein look, experiments were made with locating the stiffening in each of these four layers in turn. Hypothesis One: Stiffening the Gown. Gowns with stiffened bodies certainly existed at other periods, and boning the gown has traditionally been the practice in the theatrical context. When fully boned, and responsible for shaping the torso, this bodice produced the infamous rampart and a very rigid look not in keeping with the hint of the curve of the bust which is visible in many of the portraits. Hypothesis Two: Stiffening a Pair of Bodies. The obvious choice for stiffening was the innermost garment of all. The existence of the term ‘a pair of bodies’ in contemporary documents seemed at first to settle the master – by the end of the century this term clearly denoted a type of corset. Hypothesis Three: Stiffening the Petticoat. The expedient, with the gown bodice lying directly over the boned petticoat, was more comfortable than the separate bodies, but showed only a little improvement in appearance over the practice of boning the gown. Hypothesis Four: Stiffening the Kirtle. It was the closer examination of certain portraits that made this last option so plausible. When the back closure and boning pattern of the Munich bodies were applied to the kirtle bodice, the result was a marked improvement in fit and appearance. The thickness of the gown bodice (forebodies and placard combined) matched pretty well with the thickness of the square standing out from the kirtle, so that in profile the line from shoulder to waist became very smooth. In further investigations, from 2002 the costumes representing ladies of 1540 were accordingly made or remade with stiffened kirtle. The gowns were boned only along the lacing edge of the forebodies, and the petticoats had minimal and unstiffened upperbodies. This practice provided both comfort and the right look for all the various sizes and shapes. Experiments with the period materials have proved that the best substitutes for these in reproduction bodies are plastic or thin strips o cane. These are suitable for all areas except the center front of pointed bodies where a more substantial busk of wood, bone or steel is necessary. A combination of study and practical experiment has led to the conclusion that the most effective way of reproducing the characteristic early Tudor look is to provide the kirtle with a back-lacing, partly-boned pair of bodies, and more recent investigations suggest the possible advantages of reducing the stiffening yet further.

BY Jessica De Moraes

Paris Assignment

Title of work: The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon and the Coronation of Empress Joséphine on December 2, 1804

Artist: Jacques Louis David

Date: 1807

Present location of work: Musée Du Louvre, Paris, France

               This painting is of great historical value as it depicts one of the most important moments in history, the coronation of the Emperor and Empress. The artist Jacques Louis David is one of the most influential French painters in the Neoclassical style. David was an active supporter of the French Revolution. With the fall of his close friend and top influential figure in the Revolution, Maximilien Robespierre, David was arrested. In the late 1797 David met Napoleon I and was granted a single portrait sitting. Before the French Revolution, David’s major history paintings, inspired in contemporary events, were based on subjects of ancient history and distant civilizations. This choice of subjects was keeping with that of the French Academy, which placed higher importance in historical facts and moments than those of scenes of the contemporary life. However with the Revolution, David and his contemporaries place more focus on the Revolution and its heroes. Fond of David’s work, Napoleon I named David the official court painter after the proclamation of the Empire. David subsequently increasingly worked on this new Imperial iconography, developing his Empire style, characterized by the use of warm colors.

In 1804 Napoleon commissioned this painting to portrait the magnificence of his coronation. This painting as well as others David has done of Napoleon I is a sublime piece of political propaganda. Meticulously crafted, it’s rich in details, and symbols of imperial power such as the eagle-topped scepter, the globe, and the hand of Justice. The artist of this painting was present himself at the event depicted. Napoleon I wanted this painting to carry such a great representation of the moment that David had to make changes to reality under Napoleon’s demand. Studies of sketches made at the moment and also during some pre-studies the artist made at his work shop present further details that were changed. Examples of this is the presence in the painting of people that were not there in reality such as Napoleon’s mother Letizia Bonaparte (“Madame Mère”) and his brother Joseph Bonaparte. To accommodate Napoleon’s wish, David downsized the structure of Notre-Dame Cathedral to give bigger perspective of figures. The Pope was previously presented with his hands in his lap, and later lifted with the gesture of blessing.

This great historical painting contains highly elaborated and precious garments from its time period presented with an incredible richness of details. The Napoleon period had an enormous impact in fashion. With the Revolution followed by Napoleon’s dramatic rise to power, the period between 1789 and 1815, saw an old world collapse and a new one rise from the ashes. In just a few years, skirts with paniers, heavily laden with embroidery and lace, gave space for the flowing, diaphanous tunics of the young, fashionable women. During the French Revolution feminine costume continued to evolve along the path to freedom. One of the most daring revolutionary measures was the prohibition of the boned corset as damaging to good health, dresses begun to have a more straight and fluid line. In the beginning of this period, dresses started to often display the national colors: blue, white, and red. The dresses were long with quite low-cut and the waits, which were always marked by means of ribbon, scarves, or sashes, began quickly to move up the rib cage.

Josephine Bonaparte led the way into the new path of fashion in France. To avoid shocking people’s sensibilities too much or making too definitive a break between the fashions of the Directoire (1795-1799) and those approved by the Consulat (1799-1804), Josephine chose a close-fitting dress with a high-waist bodice. Sleeves gained a surprising new popularity. After being abandoned during the Directoire, they became the final elegant touch. Dressmakers offered them in endless variety for different occasions. Women’s costume was heavily influenced by Neoclassical themes.

When the Empire was declared in 1804 it outlined once and for all the formal dress of the emperor, empress, French princes, and high dignitaries of the new Empire. It was first displayed at the coronation ceremony presented in the painting. The costumes worn at the ceremony were rich in details and charged with meaning and symbolism. The emperor’s grand costume was composed of several elements. A very ample red velvet imperial robe was speckled with gold bees which were his personal emblem, as well as mythic motifs surrounding the initial “N”. Underneath he wore a white satin tunic with gold embroidery. Josephine also wore a red velvet robe, with same decoration as Napoleon’s, on top a silver brocade dress.

The costume served as the model for the empress’s other court costume, a one-piece, straight, high-waist dress with puff sleeves, with or without a lace cherusque, over which she wore a court train. All ladies of the court wore costume of the same design as the empress’s. The costumes designed for the coronation ceremonies for the men present, set the formal costume to be worn at court. It was strongly inspired by the costume of the emperor, knee-length mantle, coat, vest, knee breeches, lace cravat, and plumed hat.

BY Jessica De Moraes

The Stibbert Museum

The Stibbert Museum was created by Frederick Stibbert.  He was a young man that inherited his family fortune and dedicated his life into collecting objects, antiques, paintings and artifacts. The collection he created is presented in two spaces, the museum part of the villa and what once were the family’s personal rooms. The visit starts with a huge room that contains several paintings on the walls. It then continues on with rooms filled with European armor, and following are Middle Eastern armoury. There is an enormous room called “sala della cavalcata” (“room of the ride”) which was a room created in order to make a connection between the museum area and the villa. In this room there are 12 knights on horses, first 4 are presented with Italian armor, mid 4 have German armor and the last 4 have Middle Eastern (Islamic) armor.

It was fascinating to me to see the difference between the European and Middle Eastern armoury. The European armours were mainly from Italy, Germany and France, and they were from late Medieval period (15^th century) to Early Modern period (16^th to 18^th century). The helmets, even though from different periods, had basically the same shape with small differences in details. They were made of steel in a round shape as the head, usually with a higher elevation in the middle that simulates a Mohawk in steel. The front part of the helmet where the face was located differs one from another in small details. Some of them even had animal faces designs; others had pointy shapes, a more sharp shape.

Going forward with the European armour, the complete body suit was made of fully articulated rigid plate-armor made of metal, an evolution to primary leather body protections. As armies got bigger the metal quality went down, therefore needing to be thicker. The armours from this period (around 15^th to 18^th century) were extremely heavy and difficult to move and be agile with it. Warriors needed much training before being able to fight with this heavy metal protections. As in Europe the battles were more characterize by body to body fights, with less distance in between warriors, there was a higher need for this heavy armour. These armours protected the body very well but gave less flexibly on movements, and on riding and flight on a horse. Their swords were also extremely heavy. They were made out of steel and had long and straight shapes.

When it comes to the Middle Eastern armoury, it was quite different from the European. The helmets in the armoury of Islamic origin had a pointy shape on top. It resembles to me a funnel shape pointing up. They were not closed on the front as many helmets of European origin, and they had quite more patterns and decorations such as feathers. Some helmets had additional protection on the neck area. It was consisted of a round shape “metal fabric”, it hanged like fabric but it was made of small metal chains attached close together.

The complete body suit armour was apparently much lighter than the European ones. They look like big sweaters made out of steel chains attached very close together, not leaving any space in between. As their battles were much more characterized by combat on horses, they needed to be more agile and flexible; therefore their protections couldn’t be too heavy or too rigid as the European. The Islamic swords had a much more curvy shape than the straight thick swords Europeans used in battles. Reason is the difference of interaction and movements used during combat. The curvy shape of the Islamic sword made their “spin movement” faster and effective. While the straight European sword was more effective in body to body combats during wars in Europe.  

The Islamic arms and armors were decorated using a variety of techniques such as damascening, gilding, inlay, gold and silver encrusting, as well as setting with jewels and enameling. Even the armours the horses used had so much decorative details and were very colorful.

BY Jessica De Moraes