Without a doubt, the Victorian era is my most favorite fashion decade of all time. Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to go to the San Diego Museum of art where I got to observe some stunning artwork from before the 17th century. Pieces from France, Italy, England even Russia were on display from a private collection. I was amazed at the intricacies and detail of the garments and how some of the portraits looked as though they could step right out of the frame.
However, I will be saving that discussion of the 16th and 17th century art for another day.
I want to discuss the beauty and complexity of impressionistic style art from the 1880s to the Edwardian era, and what themes of fashion seem to be carried over for decades. I know it sounds a bit dumb, but before I begin designing my own recreations of costumes, I love to imagine stories behind the subjects of those painted and try to understand why the artist painted them in the first place. Was it because of their rank? Their expression? Attire? Or simply just because? Once I have imagined (or researched) my answer, I try to do my best to replicate what I see.
Here are three examples of my process:
The Illustrious Woman in Black
1896. Lilla Cabot Perry. By Albert Franz Cochrane.
The portrait above highlights the striking grandeur and wealth of this woman. Even though the painting has the feathery strokes creating an image, it is done in such a way that you can almost see and imagine the different types of fabric she is cloaked in. You can almost feel the soft velvety puffs from her sleeves, feel the suede of her sunflower colored gloves, and feel the stiffness of the black lace, trailing down the front of her ensemble, tapering off with a dark, black fur-lined collar about her throat. Lilla, undoubtedly, was a woman of her station, high ranking and nobel, as can be determined by her striking figure, her pose, and of course her highly fashionable attire.
The Great Inquisition
“East and West.” By George Henry.
George Henry, was a Scottish artist who was fascinated by the Japanese culture. As seen in several of his paintings, he frequently combined the Oriental culture with many of the European styles of the day. Such as in this portrait. Highlighting a woman, who has dropped in for tea, as can be determined by the lightness of her dress, and therefore determine that the season was most likely late spring. Perhaps Henry painted this image of a woman during the summer, after one of his travels to Japan where he brought back several little trinkets of the foreign land. One such item was this little figurine and two little trinket jars. I imagine she is fascinated by his stories of the far-away-land, and longs to hear more of his exciting travels. From the state of her dress and hat, I can assume that this portrait was completed in the late 1890s.
The Haven
“Bramley Delicious Solitude.” By Leo K.L.
This portrait is quite famous. Most likely you’ve seen it amongst the works of Cassatt, Degas, or Pissarro. Perhaps you’ve even mistaken it for a Monet. Alas, tis not so. For me, I like to assume that the artist, Leo, happened upon this woman in recluse, tucked away in a small section of a public garden, just off the path of a wide open park, lined with a lush forest of trees. It was a warm morning in Paris, and the lady had escaped from her household duties before the day had fully began. Her dress may have been one of her favorites due to the stunning amounts of lace works around the sleeves, and the black velvet trim, yet her hat suggests she might have been in a rush to escape from her slowly approaching busy day.
I hope you know that other than the artist’s names and general information, these descriptions are purely of my own making and what I had imagined.
I hope you liked this quick post! I enjoyed getting to share my thought processes! – Elise