> Of course! Think about Anne of Cleves dress. If all you knew was
> English Tudor, you'd swear that was a Fantasy/Allegorical gown.
Oh boy... I have discussed this one on my livejournal as I recently read the
most appalling disection of the sybolism in the painting ...
I found a quote online which I then tracked down in a bio about Holbein:
About the bands of trim on her skirt,
"The one on her left is not complemented by one on her right. Furthermore,
her right hand and the fall of her left undersleeve draw attention to the
discrepancy. This sends a signal to the viewer that, despite the ornateness
of the costume, there is something amiss, a certain clumsiness.[...]
Thus 'tait (a) gauche, pas a droit' (band on the left, not on the right')
sounds like 'tres gauche, pas adroit' ('very awkward, not skilful')
(Firstly do we know if Holbein spoke French?)
Oh no, let's not look at the rest of the art of the region to see if the
asymmetrical *opening* (not just trimming) is actually a fashion trait.
http://costumes.glittersweet.com/sca/k/2clevesdd.htm
Lots of openings on the left and the right!
Anyway, this is what I wrote:
I suspect Holbein succeeded in what he intended: A portrait that spoke the
truth, but people could interpret what they most wanted to believe. Her gaze
can be seen as reflective and knowing or vacant and dim depending on prior
"knowelege." (To me she looks content at that particular point in time, but
it doesn't seem to say much more beyond that.)
We also don't know just what portrait reached Henry first. The miniature is
said to have been painted after the larger portrait, but it could ahve been
painted first from the preparatory sketches. Henry may also have seen a
sketch even.
So indeed, many assumptions can be made when you don't look at context;)
I am actually working on the gown;) Well the 1560ish one at the top of each
page. I apologise for the changing colours, I still haven't decided on a
colour scheme. I need to hang out the velveteen that is halfway through the
bleaching process.
michaela de bruce
http://glittersweet.com
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