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Cookmaid With Still Life Of Vegetables And Fruit

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Fashion is a platform in which one can represent themselves. People are often characterized and assessed based on what they wear and how they present their body to the world. This notion of clothing not just being for function but also for expression dates back long before the modern age. In the early seventeenth century, for example, an artists portrayal of apparel was used as a symbol of wealth and status. The paintings ‘Cookmaid with Still Life of Vegetables and Fruit’ (Figure One), ‘Probably Mary Lady Scudamore’ (Figure Two), and ‘Dudley, the 3rd Baron North’ (Figure Three) all depict people of different prosperity and backgrounds. The three subjects in the paintings don distinctively different attire. In this essay, I will consider how …show more content…

Although just one element of this grand piece, spanning 1510mm by 2475mm, the cookmaid is a focal point of the painting that the viewers eyes automatically are drawn too. She is wearing a white and and yellow dress with a blue bodice accentuating her waist. The outfit is fairly basic, with the only detailing being an edging along the dress that emphasizes the woman's chest. The simplicity of the outfit parallels what the commonalty wore in the early seventeenth century, signifying the subjects association with the lower class. The colors that make up the dress all originate from natural dyes, making them less expensive than red or purple material. Along with that, the majority of the dress is a dark mustard yellow, rather than a lighter color. Working woman often wore darker colors, rather than white, as their clothing was more prone to get dirty due to their laborious lifestyle. The fashion of the lower class was generally made of linen, or cotton as they were cheaper textiles than that of silk or lace. Artwork in the seventeenth century does not commonly portray the working class, as commissioning a portrait was a luxury, so there is less knowledge about the fashion of the commoners. However, the painting by Bacon gives viewers insight into the daily dress of laborers and peasants …show more content…

The subject of the portrait, Dudley North, is pictured wearing a knee length rich black garment fully embroidered in silver thread, paired with an extravagant set of shoes. He also dons a white collar and cufflinks made of lace, paralleling those depicted in the portrait of Lady Scudamore. The color and materiality of the attire convey the elite status of Dudley. The subject of the painting was a principle courtier of James I, a role that placed him in the heart of clothing. The court members developed into models for the noble style of dress, with royalty spending thousands of pounds annually for their wardrobe. In the modern world, fashion is predominately a female dominated industry. However, in the early seventeenth century, the dress of men was of greater importance than that of woman, as aristocratic woman often lived privatized lives whereas men were more exposed to society. The fit of the male outfit also held a high significance, just as it did for the female. In the portrait, Dudley’s waist is highlighted through the tight tailoring of the costume, and is enhanced by the belt that clasps his sword. The male representation of fashion was a symbol of aristocracy in seventeenth century England and was used in portraiture in order to express one’s wealth, as seen through the painting of Dudley

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