Woman and a Coat of Arms with a Peacock

Creator:
Altdorfer, Erhard, ca. 1485-1561 or 1562
Physical Description:
8.5 x 4.6 cm
Date Depicted:
1975
1500 AD - 1699 AD
Notes:
A finely pleated gown. The hat is a version of the beret.
Abstract:
Before the sixteenth century dress is largely shaped by the body. Now, in a sudden about-face, it is shaped artificially. With the exception of one brief period, the artificial silhouette lasts through the nineteenth century. The Reformation court dress is shaped like a stiff cone. Details are formally balanced. Women move slowly and sedately, as if on wheels. The overall effect is architectural. Court dress is composed of separates. A steel corset flattens the body under the bodice. The fitted bodice has two underarm seams and is shaped to a V at the waist. The neckline is wide, square and arched across the front, emphasized by an edging of jewels or lace. Sometimes it is filled in with a partlet or plastron, usually in a contrasting fabric. The shape of the skirt is determined by a funnel-shaped hoop, the verdingale or farthingale, which is made of whale bone or iron straps. Layers of petticoats are placed over the hoop, and a shaped underskirt goes on top of the petticoats. The overskirt is cut and shaped to fit over the undergarments without wrinkles or folds. It is often open at the center front, revealing the underskirt which is lighter in color. When the overskirt is closed, trim emphasizes the center front edges. False oversleeves, looking like wide turned-back cuffs, are pinned to the sleeves of the bodice. The oversleeves are changeable. There are elbow length false undersleeves too. Decorated with jewels and applied puffs, they end at the wrist in small ruffles which fall over the hands. Other gowns include the round gown and a degraded form of the court houppelande. At this time differences in dress are more apparent by country.
Topics:
Costume -- Europe -- History -- (LC)
Prints -- Germany -- 16th century -- (YVRC)
Period/Style:
Reformation
Culture:
German
Accession Number:
4390-018
Genre:
costume (mode of fashion) (AAT)
prints: engravings (AAT)
Format:
Image
Content Type:
Clothing & Accessories
Prints & Photographs
Rights:
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.
Access Restrictions:
Yale Community Only
Source Creator:
Button, Jeanne and Sbarge, Stephen
Source Title:
History of Costume, In Slides, Notes and Commentaries: Volume 3
Source Created:
New York, NY
Theatre Arts Slide Presentations
1975
Call Number:
GT513 +B87 3 (LC)
Orbis Barcode:
39002051938471
Yale Collection:
Visual Resources Collection
Digital Collection:
Visual Resources Collection
Original Repository:
New Haven, CT: Yale University Art Gallery
OID:
10600364
PID:
digcoll:1846729