I can tell you that that I believe that BOTH of these paintings are of women riding ASTRIDE. These are two of my favorite paintings and I have duplicated both of these gowns for myself. It takes a LOT of material to make the skirts of these gowns. If one is riding side-saddle, the gown will not "envelope" the hind quarters of the horse the way these gowns do. I side saddle gown will literally hang to the side of the legs (covering the legs)and not cover the hindquarters of the horse.
Diane VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Queen Isabel of Bourbon Equestrian 1634-35 Oil on canvas, 301 x 314 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid http://www.wga.hu/art/v/velazque/05/0506vela.jpg VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Queen Margarita on Horseback 1634-35 Oil on canvas, 297 x 309 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid http://www.wga.hu/art/v/velazque/05/0503vela.jpg It's really hard for me to tell whether they're riding astride or sidesaddle, but perhaps someone with more equestrian experience could venture. _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
