OVERVIEW

Womenswear

Wikipedia writes of fashion during this time:

“In the early years of the new century, fashionable bodices had high necklines or extremely low, rounded necklines, and short wings at the shoulders. Separate closed cartwheel ruffs were sometimes worn, with the standing collar, supported by a small wire frame or supportasse used for more casual wear and becoming more common later. Long sleeves were worn with deep cuffs to match the ruff.”

María de Médici, Reina de Francia

Fig. 1 - Frans Pourbus the Younger (Flemish, 1569-1622). María de Médici, Reina de Francia, 1607. Oil on canvas; 214 x 124 cm (84.3 x 48.8 in). Bilbao: Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, 84/86. Legated by Lorenzo Hurtado de Saracho, 1984. Source: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Portrait of Margherita Gonzaga

Fig. 2 - Frans Pourbus the younger (Flemish, 1569-1622). Portrait of Margherita Gonzaga, 1606. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Source: Wikimedia

Portrait of Doña Ana de Velasco y Girón

Fig. 3 - Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (Spanish, 1553-1608). Portrait of Doña Ana de Velasco y Girón, 1603. Paris: Musée Jacquemart-André. Collection of Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital. Source: Peacock Plume - The American University of Paris

Dual portrait of Sir Reginald And Lady Mohun

Fig. 4 - Artist unknown. Dual portrait of Sir Reginald And Lady Mohun, 1603/4. Oil on panel; 190.5 x 111.4 cm (75 x 44 1/4 in). Private Collection. Source: Pinterest

Menswear

Wikipedia writes of fashion during this time:

“Linen shirts had deep cuffs. Shirt sleeves became fuller throughout the period. To the 1620s, a collar wired to stick out horizontally, called a whisk, was popular. Other styles included an unstarched ruff-like collar and, later, a rectangular falling band lying on the shoulders. Pointed Van Dyke beards, named after the painter Anthony van Dyck, were fashionable, and men often grew a large, wide moustache, as well. Doublets were pointed and fitted close to the body, with tight sleeves, to about 1615. Gradually waistlines rose and sleeves became fuller, and both body and upper sleeves might be slashed to show the shirt beneath. Sleeveless leather jerkins were worn by soldiers and are seen in portraits, but otherwise the jerkin rapidly fell out of fashion for indoor wear.”

James VI and I

Fig. 1 - John de Critz the elder (Flemish, 1551-1642). James VI and I, 1606. Oil on canvas; 200.5 x 129.5 cm (78.9 x 50.9 cm in). London: Dulwich Picture Gallery, DPG548. Gift of Henry Yates Thompson, 1898. Source: Dulwich Picture Gallery

Portrait of Kaspar Scioppius

Fig. 2 - Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640). Portrait of Kaspar Scioppius, ca. 1606. Oil on canvas; 116 x 88 cm (45.7 x 34.6 in). Florence: Pitti Palace. Source: Web Gallery of Art

Portrait of Nicolas de Droullin

Fig. 3 - Charles Martin. Portrait of Nicolas de Droullin, 1600. Oil on canvas; 106 × 88 cm (41.7 × 34.6 in). Warsaw: National Museum in Warsaw, M.Ob.2325 (131040). Source: Wikimedia

CHILDREN’S WEAR

Princess Elizabeth, Later Queen of Bohemia

Fig. 1 - Robert Peake the Elder (British, 1551-1619). Princess Elizabeth, Later Queen of Bohemia, 1606. Oil on canvas; 154.3 x 79.4 cm (60 3/4 x 31 1/4 in). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 51.194.1. Gift of Kate T. Davison, in memory of her husband, Henry Pomeroy Davison, 1951. Source: The Met

Portrait of Eleonora of Mantua as a Child

Fig. 2 - Frans Pourbus the Younger (Flemish, 1569-1622). Portrait of Eleonora of Mantua as a Child, ca. 1605. Oil on canvas; 64 x 49 cm (25.2 x 19.3 in). Florence: Pitti Palace. Source: Wikimedia

Maria Anna, Infanta of Spain, Later Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Empress, as a Child

Fig. 3 - Bartolomé González y Serrano (Spanish, 1564-1627). Maria Anna, Infanta of Spain, Later Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Empress, as a Child, ca. 1608/1610. Oil on canvas; 106.5 x 75 cm (41.9 x 29.5 in). Cliveden: National Trust, 766121. presented to the National Trust with the house and grounds by Waldorf, 2nd Viscount Astor, 1942. Source: Art UK

References:

Historical Context

Wikipedia: 1610-1619
Rulers:

 Map of Europe, 1595. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Events:
  • 1600 – The East India Company is granted a Royal Charter in the Kingdom of England for trade with Asia.
  • 1601 – Possible first performance of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet.
  • 1603 – James I is crowned as King of England in Westminster Abbey.
  • 1605 – Guy Fawkes is arrested for trying to kill King James I of England, AKA. The Gunpowder Plot of November 5th.
  • 1605 – Hemlines go up to show feet, following the introduction of heeled shoes for the rich, hence the expression “well heeled.”
  • 1606 – Jamestown, Virginia, is established as the first permanent English settlement in North America.
  • 1609 – Galileo Galilei demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian officials.
  • 1600s – In lady’s wear, the short jacket is introduced. These are initially closed with ribbons, later with metal hooks and eyes. They are worn by all stations of society but the materials depend on rank. Boned bodices cinch in waist and lift the barely covered breasts.

    • Timeline Entries

    1600 – Unknown British Painter, Portrait of a Woman

    1600 – Unknown British Painter, Portrait of a Woman

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    1600-1609

    1600-1609

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    Primary/Period Sources

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