You’ve always wanted to go tour amazing museums and see historical sites in person instead of in photographs. But how do you plan your own customized research tour? Here are some tips and tricks from my various research trips to Europe over the years. ... continue reading...
A 15th century Extant Italian Gown
I've been digging and organizing my research material recently, and while browsing through my files, I remembered that I had this tucked away. This paper is really amazing, it's not everyday you run across an extant 15th Italian gown! Un Abito per Osanna, in "IN GLORIA 1515 -2015. OSANNA ANDREASI D A M A N T O V A " The paper discusses the life and extant gown of the Blessed Osanna Andreasi of Mantua (1499-1505). While it is in Italian, please don't let that deter you from reading this ... continue reading...
Beware the halo!
I've been asked for an easy guide, or building blocks, to understand which allegorical or spiritual images are safe or not safe to use in understanding and recreating the clothing of the 16th century. So I thought I would start with the simplest identifier of what clothing is not safe: halos, or as they are also known, nimbus. Halos are the standard markers for saints in woodcuts and paintings. When you see a halo, or a circle around a persons's head, use extra caution and evaluate the image ... continue reading...
Freydal – Book of Jousts 1515
I'm working on a longer post about why you should "Beware the halo!" when looking at images to use for analyzing historical clothing, but it's not going to get done tonight. While looking for an illustration for that post, I found a great image on a totally different topic (story of my life!) Here's a nice image of two knights jousting. I love this black and white tournament set from: Freydal, The Book of Jousts and Tournament of Emperor Maximilian I: Combats on Horseback (Jousts)(Volume II): ... continue reading...
Three sons of Johann Frederich
So last nights post about allegorical images hit a few pain points I had no idea even existed, or even that there was a lot confusion and hurt about the subject. In thinking more about it today, using the word "allegorical" to describe artwork with religious scenes is to me a problematic usage of the word, because the definition of allegory is to express a meaning or message through the artistic piece, and there are plenty of non-religious pieces which are allegorical, but have 100% documentable ... continue reading...