The Ornamented Being

KCI: c. 1890 This is a Renaissance revival dress. The thick cloth of bouclé and smooth satin, the slits used effectively throughout the dress, and the decorations typical of the Renaissance revival all convey the nostalgia for the grand past which was felt at the end of the 19th century.

After Gustave Beer opened a house in Vienna, they relocated their base of operations to Paris in 1905. Gustave Beer kept hold of their foreign clientele, and introduced their works during the season at a famous hotel in Paris.

The most wonderful thing happened to me coming home. I am doing a private research project for my internship on nobility in Austria which needs to be completed by next week.  I checked out a book about Silk Fabrics in Italian and Northern Paintings but because it was so heavy I decided to just carry it in my arms.

The trains are currently a mess because of the weather coming and it didn’t help that I boarded my train during rush hour, it was so packed you couldn’t even move! I somehow managed to get a seat but I offered it to the little girl next to me standing with her mom and when she declined I made myself comfortable.

The little girl had to be around seven. She was a quiet little thing but I smiled at her and she complemented me on my furry hat. I laughed and let her touch the pom poms on it. She then quietly pointed at the cover of my book and remarked at how pretty the woman was. Then she asked what my book was about. I think I shocked every single person around me when I opened the book and started showing her what it was about. 

I started off with the early Renaissance but she knew the most about Henry VIII so I turned to that section. To my delight she knew who everyone was without having to look at the captions. While she told me about the people in the paintings I told her about what they were wearing. I explained what blackwork was and she even picked it out in another painting. Their stop came and when they left the train all I heard was the little girl talking about buying the book. 

After she got off the train I looked up and saw that most of the people at the end of my carriage were looking at me and it was silent. I tried to recall what was going on while I was talking to the little girl but all I remember was the quiet. During rush hour traffic in London I had somehow managed to silence a train.

A man standing nodded at me before putting his earbuds back in and two men had turned around in their seats to watch what I was doing. I even remember looking up at one point and angling my book so that the man standing who had just nodded at me could see over the mothers shoulder.

Our responsibility is to nurture the future, to inspire and to educate them. When she turned around to wave at me I suddenly wanted to cry. I recognized that spark of interest in her eyes because it’s the one I carry with me everyday.

This is one of my favorites. I’ve always had a great love affair with Primavera : Isabelle de Borchgrave – Flora, 2006

“Another of Botticelli’s paintings from 1482, Primavera, served as the inspiration for this piece. The painting is an allegory for Spring, and depicts a pastoral garden scene filled with mythological figures such as Mercury, Zephyrus, Chloris – and Flora, who is represented here, by de Borchgrave.”

Isabelle de Borchgrave – Isabella de’ Medici, 2006

“Isabelle de Borchgrave based this piece off of another painting by Alessandro Allori, that is part of the collection of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. The portrait is of Isabella de’ Medici, and what is perhaps the most interesting, is her rather grotesque zibellino. A popular fashion accessory during the 15th and 16th centuries, and a predecessor to fox furs, zibellinoswere the fur pelts of either ermine, sable or marten. Some were plain, while others were fitted with jeweled eyes and faces. Historians have often referred to zibellinos as “flea-furs”, suggesting that they were worn to attract fleas away from the body of the wearer.”

Isabelle de Borchgrave – Bianca (“Bia”) de Medici, 2006

“Based on another Bronzino portrait, the subject of this piece, Bia de Medici, was the illegitimate daughter of Florence’s Duke Cosimo I de Medici. Bia was born prior to the Duke’s first marriage, but died from a fever at the age of six. Cosimo commissioned Bronzino to paint the posthumous portrait, which remains one of his finest works. In the painting, and in the paper sculpture, Bia wears a medallion with her father’s profile on it. Absent from the painting, however, is the coral amulet. de Borchgrave makes no mention of her inclusion of the coral, but it is reminiscent of several art historical themes. In ancient Rome, coral was seen as a symbol of fertility – but perhaps more relevant, is its use as a talisman or amulet.  A large number of 14th and 15th century paintings, depict children, and even the baby Jesus, wearing a coral talisman. Piero della Francesco’s painting, Madonna di Senigallia best illustrates this.”

“This is the first in a series that is based on the decadence and grandeur of the Medici – a banking family that over several centuries, amassed a considerable fortune, and grew to become both a political and royal dynasty. After visiting Florence’s Uffizi Gallery, and seeing the fantastic paintings of the Italian Renaissance, de Borchgrave became inspired to create this series. Sandro Botticelli’s c. 1482 painting entitled Pallas and the Centaur, is the basis for this piece.”

*insert inappropriate codpiece joke here*