art, fashion, and the classical ideal in the 1790s
- Categories
- Book/Boek
- Creator
- Rauser, Amelia
- Publish Year
- 2020
- Shelfmark
- WER 4 2020
- Thesaurus
- vrouwbeelden, vroegmoderne periode, klassieke oudheid, slavernij, witte vrouwen, zwarte vrouwen, vrouwenbewegingen, Italië, Verenigd Koninkrijk, Frankrijk, 18e eeuw
- Description
- The author explores the sudden emergence and meaning of neoclassical women's dress in the 1790s, tracing its evolution from Naples (Italy) to London (England) and Paris (France) over the course of a decade. She argues that women styled themselves as living statues, an aesthetic and philosophical choice intertwined with the experiments and innovations of artists working in other media like painting, literature and music during the same period. Although neoclassicism is often considered a cold, rational, and masculine movement, Rauser’s analysis shows that neoclassism can be recast as a feminine, progressive movement, with women as ideals and allegories, artistic agents and patrons.
Also aspects of plantation fashion, neoclassical fashion inspired by enslaved women, primitivism and the "dress á la sauvage" are studied. The neoclassical style of clothing, often referred to as robe à la grecque, empire style, or “undress”, is marked by a sheer, white, high-waisted muslin dress worn with minimal undergarments, often accessorized with a cashmere shawl. This style represented a dramatic departure from that of previous decades and was short lived: by the 1820s, corsets, silks, and hoop skirts were back in fashion.