Thursday 13 October 2011Illuminating Fashion

A comprehensive study of dress in Northern Europe from the early fourteenth century to the beginning of the Renaissance, Illuminating Fashion: Dress in the Art of Medieval France and the Netherlands, 1325-1515 is the first thorough study of the history of fashion in this period based solely on firmly dated or datable works of art. It draws on illuminated manuscripts, early printed books, tapestries, paintings, and sculpture from museums and libraries around the world.

“Symbolism and metaphors are buried in the art of fashion,” says Roger Wieck, the editor of Illuminating Fashion and curator of the accompanying exhibition at the Morgan Library. Examining the role of social customs and politics in influencing dress, at a time of rapid change in fashion, this fully illustrated volume demonstrates the richness of such symbolism in medieval art and how artists used clothing and costume to help viewers interpret an image.

At the heart of the work is A Pictorial History of Fashion, 1325 to 1515, an album of over 300 illustrations with commentary. This is followed by a comprehensive glossary of medieval English and French clothing terms and an extensive list of dated and datable works of art. Not only can this fully illustrated volume be used as guide to a fuller understanding of the works of art, it can also help date an undated work; reveal the shape and structure of actual garments; and open up a picture’s iconographic and social content.

It is invaluable for costume designers, students and scholars of the history of dress and history of art, as well as those who need to date works of art.

The Authors
Anne Hagopian van Buren, who died in 2008, was an eminent art historian. A specialist in medieval and Netherlandish art, she was the editor of Early Netherlandish Paintings: Rediscovery, Reception and Research (2005). Roger S. Wieck is curator of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts at the Morgan Library & Museum and author of Time Sanctified: The Book of Hours in Medieval Art and Life (1988) and Painted Prayers: The Book of Hours in Medieval and Renaissance Art (1999).

ILLUMINATING FASHION
Dress in the Art of Medieval France and the Netherlands, 1325-1515

448 pages, 305 x 229mm (9 x 12in.), portrait
340 colour illustrations, hardback
ISBN: 978-1-904832-90-4
Price: US$95.00/UK£65.00
Publication date: September 2011
Publisher: D Giles Limited, London

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