Hello~! This is so not my period of study, so I'm not much help on issues 1 & 2. But for issue 3, I can tell you what I see. I see a deliberate design, not a place where the paint is flaking off or a "mistake" or sloppy painting. Notice the perfectly straight line across the top of the black shape, and the symmetrical curve of the bottom line. Those suggest an opening to me. I almost fancy that I see subtle shading of gathers and puckers along the bottom edge. I also see tiny hatchmarks inside it, which looks a lot like a representation of netting. It would make sense for a woman with a lot of hair to put it up in a sturdy net, then cover it with the fashionable outer "bag" that we see here.
This is what I see... others may see differently! +Linda+ -----Original Message----- On Behalf Of E House Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2006 6:42 PM Subject: [h-cost] 1520s french headwear--fresh eyes needed I'm working on a replica of the headress worn by Princess Charlotte in this Clouet painting (1522): http://www.formfunction.org/temp/1522clouet-charlotte-de-fra.jpg After much experimentation, I've come up with a pattern I'm reasonably happy with, but I just cannot make up my mind on a few points. If you'll look at this closeup: http://www.formfunction.org/temp/1522clouet-charlotte-detail.jpg you should be able to see each of them. Issue 3: that blackish semi-circle at the nape of the neck This looks almost like a painter's mistake, or as though the paint has started to flake off to reveal a previous version, or some wierd aborted restoration attempt, or I don't know what; whatever it is, my instinct is that it's not really a part of the headwear. If it were a part of the headwear, the only things I can think of would be a) a poor rendering of the bag's interior, seen in shadow (but I give Clouet way more credit than that!) or b) a netting of some sort. Any ideas as to what on earth it could be? Anyone know more about the history of this painting than I do (ie, more than nothing)? -E House _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
