(Above) Louis XV, King of France (1710 - 1774) in 1717, Justinat Augustin (?-1743) painter, 18th century, reign of Louis XV (1723 - 1774) Versailles, château de Versailles © RMN | Philippe Bernard. (Click for larger image)
(Above) Crown of Louis XV (created for the coronation) Also referred to as the personal crown of Louis XV, Augustin Duflot (1715 - 1774), Clause Rondé (based on), 1722 © Paris, Musée du Louvre | Martine Beck-Coppola. (Click for larger image)
(Above) Coronation suit of prince heir of Gustave III of Sweden 29 May 1772 © Stockholm, Livrustkammaren. (Click for larger image)
(Above) Court dress (grand costume) worn for the coronation of Sophie Madeleine: train 29 May 1772 © Stockholm, Livrustkammaren. (Click for larger image)
(Above) Back view of Court dress (grand costume) worn for the coronation of Sophie Madeleine: train 29 May 1772 © Stockholm, Livrustkammaren. (Click for larger image)
(Above) Decorated robes: dress and skirt Attributed to Rose Bertin, 1780-1790 © Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum. (Click for larger image)
(Above) Pair of men’s shoes, End of 17th century - beginning of 18th century © Dresden, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. (Click for larger image)
(Above) Wedding dress (grand costume) of Edwige Elisabeth Charlotte de Holstein - Gottorp, wife of Prince Karl and sister in law of King Gustave III of Sweden 1774 © Stockholm, Livrustkammaren. (Click for larger image)I AM PRETTY SURE THAT I ACTUALLY OWNED THOSE WHITE SHOES (ABOVE) IN THE 1970’s. How they ended up in this exhibition, I do not know. I still have the white belt that matches them.
And how about those double-wide dresses! Wouldn’t they really get on people’s nerves when you met them on the sidewalk? I mean, it would be: “Excuse me! Coming through! I’m sorry, excuse me!” A woman could hide all seven of her dwarfs under a dress like that. Hmmm. So that’s it!
These outrageous costumes are actual clothes worn by the aristocracy of Europe in an exhibition covering a 150 year span of time. All of this and more at the exhibition: Court Pomp and Royal Ceremonies: Court Dress in Europe 1650 - 1800 at Chateau Versailles.
Images compliments of Art Daily.
I remember somewhere reading a comment from cartoonist R. Crumb that he liked women with a "shelf" in back...this dress is a whole library!
ReplyDeleteI'd wear Gustave III's coronation coat right now.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing a show at the V&A in '83 of incredible cloths. Clothes that we would consider costumes they seemed so over the top. What struck me, beyond the beautiful detail work, was how very tiny these people were. Tiny tiny people. I felt like a Bigfoot standing there looking at all of it. I'd think that one of those small women wearing one of these gowns would have serious trouble keeping their feet on the ground if a good strong wind came along. And on the dance floor it must have looked like bumper cars.
ReplyDeleteAll comments: Hilarious!
ReplyDelete