Similar paning is seen on the sleeves of Princess Sibylle of Cleve (Fig. Notably her undersleeves are elaborately paned, a trend we first saw in Germany and that remained popular there. Two elements are perplexing: one would expect a headdress of this date to be much larger, matching the sleeves in effect, and the sleeves to be gathered tightly at the elbows, rather than loosely as here.” “Costume historians are divided over whether the sitter’s clothes are northern Italian or Florentine. 6) has provoked debate, as the Royal Collection Trust notes: The lack of balance between the sleeve width and the headdress of the Lady in Green (Fig. Her turban-style headdress is particularly large and extravagant, which nicely balances the fullness of her sleeves. According to the National Gallery of Canada: “Technical study reveals that the artist made significant changes to her costume and hairstyle as he painted, likely at the request of the sitter, who would have wanted the latest fashions for her portrait.” 5) shows a rich burgundy velvet gown with a chemise embroidered in black with elaborate scrollwork she does not carry a zibellino, but wears gloves, which are increasingly worn by men and women. in huge round forms, ruffled, netted and knotted.” (496)īartolomeo Veneto’s Portrait of a Young Lady (Fig. “The turbans which the Italians always loved… return in the early XVI c. Davenport comments on this headdress style: 4) features two key Italian accessories: a zibellino, or sable/marten fur pelt that hangs from a chain on her girdle, and her large turban-style headdress. “Instead of the funnel or close sleeve of English, French or German gowns, with their neat shoulder line, the sleeve of an Italian gown is apt to be voluminously gathered at the top.” (496)īernardino Luini’s Portrait of a Lady (Fig.

As Milia Davenport remarks in The Book of Costume (1948) Italian sleeve styles were different from those found elsewhere: The standing ruffled collar that will be a key feature of Italian menswear is also in evidence here. These three women also follow the Spanish trend of the filled-in neckline, with their expansive chemises with beautiful blackwork embroidery visible. The stiff, padded bodices of the gowns in figures 4-6 are softened by the sumptuous texture of the fabrics. Muralti compared them with wine barrels.” (223-24) “The Italians showed increasing appreciation of women ‘full in flesh’ and, according to Montaigne, ‘fashion them large and stout’. The broad silhouette seen in figures 2-3 mirrors that found in menswear of the time. Some Italian women (especially those in Venice) retained the low-cut bodices favored in 1510-1519. Rich Italian silks and velvets abounded in dress of this period and Italian women’s gowns showcased their excellence. “The court costume of Charles V gave Italy the system of supporting frameworks round the chest and waist and the inflexible arrangement of formal folds, and Italy adapted its rich textiles to these styles.” (224) François Boucher describes this influence in A History of Costume in the West (1997): In this period Spain exerted a great deal of influence on Italian dress as much of Northern Italy was under Spanish control. As Jane Ashelford notes in her Visual History of Costume: The Sixteenth Century (1983): “the contrast between the rigidity of the upper half of the body and the wide expanse of the oversleeves becomes a marked characteristic of female fashion during the next two decades” (31). Her transparent linen chemise or partlet completely fills the neckline of her dress.

Queen Isabella of Portugal, wife of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, demonstrates this new fashion in her 1520s portrait (Fig.

As bodices were redesigned, they were heavily padded to provide a smooth lay of the fabric.” (378) Partlets, high-collared chemises, and even veils resolved the issue at first until bodices began to be constructed to completely conceal the upper torso to the neck. “Among the style changes inaugurated by the Madrid court was a restriction against open necklines. Daniel Delis Hill elaborates further in his History of World Costume and Fashion (2011): Women’s dress in Spain was becoming more modest, a trend that would later spread across Europe in contrast to the low necklines of decades previous.

Portrait painter 1.37