Category: artwork analysis

12th century – Norman Mosaics

artwork analysis, Byzantine, Middle Ages

The Norman Mosaics are a series of 12th-century artworks in churches across Sicily. The dress seen in these mosaics reflects Byzantine styles including the divetesion and loros. The mosaics have notably also served as inspiration for designers in the 21st century.

1400-1420 – Artist unknown, Saddle

1400-1409, 1410-1419, 15th century, artwork analysis

This intricately carved medieval saddle, used ceremonially, celebrates life, love, the arts, and conquest of demons and dragons.

1416 – Limbourg Brothers, April, Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

1410-1419, 15th century, artwork analysis

April, illuminated by the Limbourg Brothers, shows us the high fashion of wealthy nobles in the Late Middle Ages.

1440 – Fra Filippo Lippi, Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement

1440-1449, 15th century, artwork analysis

Angiola di Bernardo Sapiti and Lorenzo di Ranieri Scolari dress in keeping with 1440s Florentine fashions.

1449 – Petrus Christus, A Goldsmith in his Shop

1440-1449, 15th century, artwork analysis

Petrus Christus juxtaposes the lofty style of a wealthy couple preparing for their wedding with the more humbly dressed goldsmith and others.

1450 – Rogier van der Weyden, Portrait of Isabella of Portugal

1450-1459, 15th century, artwork analysis

Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, painted by Rogier van der Weyden in 1450, is depicted wearing the latest styles of the Burgundian nobility.

1487-88 – Davide Ghirlandaio, Selvaggia Sassetti (born 1470)

1480-1489, 15th century, artwork analysis

Selvaggia may not be the most fashionable and extravagant person of her time, but we cannot be sure about that until the rest of her dress is revealed.

1510 – Titian, Portrait of a Man with a Quilted Sleeve

1510-1519, 16th century, artwork analysis

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.

1525-30 – Jan Jansz Mostaert, Portrait of a Black Man

1520-1529, 1530-1539, 16th century, artwork analysis, BIPOC

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.

1535-40 – Attributed to Corneille de Lyon, Anne de Pisseleu (1508–1576)

1530-1539, 1540-1549, 16th century, artwork analysis

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.

1540 – Attributed to Hans Brosamer, Katharina Merian

1540-1549, 16th century, artwork analysis

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.

1540s – Unidentified artist, Sir William Butts

1540-1549, 16th century, artwork analysis

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.