Renaissance Women

The Italian Renaissance lasted from 1400 BC to 1600 BC. During this time Italy was made up of a number of city-states that were ruled by Princes. The population was divided into aristocracy, the merchant class, artisans, town laborers and peasants of the countryside. The rulers set the standards for fashion and wore lavish garments that were depicted in artwork, but merchant classes would imitate these styles. From 1494 to 1549 the countryside was an area of war and Italy lost many of these areas to northern countries. The occupation of the northern powers helped spread the Renaissance throughout the rest of Europe. Moretto da Brescia’s painting “Portrait of a Lady in White” depicts how women’s fashions of mid 16th century Italy was influenced
Both of the paintings have similar characteristics in the style of dress. According to the National Gallery of Art, “the woman in the Bronzino painting is a noblewoman and most likely a member of the court of Cosimo I de’Medici, Duke of Florence in the mid 16th century.” The woman wears an elaborately embroidered chemise, which extends above the neckline of the red brocade gown. Her gown has a wide square neckline and the sleeves have wide puffs near the shoulders and are fitted from the elbow to the wrist. The bodice of the gown is rigid and the skirt is full. She has a Turban headdress, which is influenced by the Turkish headdress and a popular style during this time. Also, in her left hand she holds a pair of gloves that are perfumed. All of the distinct garment characteristics shown in “A Young Woman and Her Little Boy” are present in the “Portrait of a Lady in
Outside of the accurately portrayal of velvets, satins and brocade this painting depicts a specific textile that displays Turkish influence. The use of this textile shows how the Italians were not only adopting the fashions, but also the textiles of outside cultures. Moretto’s painting “Portrait of a Lady in White” shows the subject resting her left arm on a Turkish carpet that shows her wealth (see Figure 1.3). The Renaissance inventories called them mosque carpets and the Italians displayed them on furniture. The prayer rug from the Ushak region of Turkey dated from the late 15th and 16th century has a pointed arch with a lamp chain at the top of the rug. This decoration refers to “mihrab, the niche in a mosque wall that orients prayer toward Mecca.” This same design is shown in small piece of rug represented in the Moretto