“Beauty Adorns Virtue”: Italian Renaissance Fashion
Renaissance beauty was not skin deep. In order to be considered beautiful (and fashionable), an early modern woman must also be virtuous.
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Renaissance beauty was not skin deep. In order to be considered beautiful (and fashionable), an early modern woman must also be virtuous.
Fashion in the first decade of the sixteenth century largely continued the trends of the 1490s, but with a growing Italian influence on men’s and womenswear producing a broader silhouette, as well as an increasing presence of slashing on men’s garments.
Titian’s portrait of Gerolamo Barbarigo from the beginning of the 16th century captures the young Venetian looking his fashionable best, lavishly dressed for his decade.
The second decade of the 16th century featured broad-shouldered silhouettes for men and women, paired with immense sleeves (except for women in Germany, who retained narrow sleeves). Slashing, pinking, paning and other decorative fabric treatments like blackwork embroidery were increasingly common.
In 1520-1529, men and women both began to wear shirts with high standing collars ending in a frill at the neck and cuff, which would later evolve into the ruff. Dark colors continued to grow in popularity, as did everything oversize, among them: codpieces, gown sleeves, and elaborate headdresses.
Deciphering Jan Jansz Mostaert’s Portrait of an African Man reveals the presence of Black bodies within European court circles and hints at their position within them.
Men’s fashion of the 1530s was dominated by the broad-shouldered silhouettes made iconic by King Henry VIII. Women’s fashion showed greater regional variation, with Italian women establishing trends that would soon spread to the rest of Europe in the second half of the century.
Anne de Pisseleu, Duchesse d’Étampes, exemplifies fashionable women’s dress in France c. 1535-1540 with her tight bodice with lowered square neckline, inverted “V” shaped skirt with visible underskirt, and French hood headdress.
The half-length portrait of Katharina Merian, attributed to the German artist Hans Brosamer, is an exemplary painting of German women’s fashion of the early 16th century.
In the 1540s men’s doublets begin to emerge from under to outerwear and their hose increase in volume, beginning to assume a melon shape. Womenswear becomes increasing rigid with stiffened bodices flattening the torso and breasts.
Sir William Butts of Thornage is dressed in a subdued palette that quietly showcases the intricate details and treatments applied to his garments which were trending in his time during the Tudor reign.
Spanish fashion was ascendant in the 1550s, from the loose women’s gown—the ropa—and the Spanish farthingale in women’s dress to the narrow-cut jerkins and tight sleeves of Philip II and the must-have men’s outerwear piece, the Spanish cape.
The late 16th century’s fashion is characterized by its Spanish influence, and as a Spanish Prince, Don Carlos exhibits the height of the time’s fashion.
The stiff formality of 1560s womenswear, achieved through boning and high ruffs, was met by equally high collars on men, who also wore increasing pumpkin-sized melon hose and doublets with padding at the front belly.
Campi’s portrait of an unknown woman exemplifies 1560s Italian fashion with its squared neckline, filled in with a sheer partlet, and its pointed bodice with decoration applied at the edges and down the center.
Women in the 1570s believed more was more, loved intense decorative effects, and adopted some influences from menswear. Men’s dress was quite curvilinear, with a padded belly, small waist, and large bulbous melon hose at the thighs.
In the 16th-century Tudor court, monarchs used portraiture to establish their ideal image—often times exaggerated and dramatized, but at the forefront of fashion.
From a family with close links to the crown, Sir Walter Devereux rose to great heights on the strength of his perseverance and loyalty. When granted the title of 1st...
1580s fashion featured a new, slender silhouette for men, and a contrasting, ever-expanding dimensionality for women. These fanciful styles signaled power, class, and currency.
This 16th-century portrait attributed to Annibale Carracci is valuable for its realistic depiction of a Black sitter, possibly a seamstress, who is dressed in a fine but sensible black day dress with touches of Italian luxury.