Doing the laundry-1775
We get a lot of stuff from freecycle, and give a lot of stuff away. What we have been accumulating is building supplies with a plan of building a few sheds and a little cabin in the spring.
On a trip to pick up a roll of roofing, the guy who had it offered me some other stuff. Instead of sorting through it, I offered to clean out his shed and disperse the stuff for him, either to other freecycle people or to the local "swap shop".
In the boxes of stuff was a little stack of art prints, suitable for framing. Several of them were prints from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and one in particular caught my attention. It shows a ruined bridge, a group of washerwomen on the bridge's footing, and a guy across the little river "checking them out".
At first, I got a chuckle out of the guy checking out cleavage, thinking that not much has changed since the painting was done in 1775. Then I noticed the clothing details. The guy is interesting in that he is wearing a fabric cap under his tricorn. I've never seen that done before.
It's the woman who really stand out though. There are a few people on the bridge, and they are dressed in typical bedgowns like we are used to seeing. The women under the bridge, doing the laundry, however, are wearing jumps and sleeveless bodices!
Yup, the very garments that have stuck in my craw at reenactments for years. Jumps and stays are undergarments that you rarely see in English paintings because it was not socially acceptable to wear them out in public. This would be akin to walking around on Main Street in a bra. Nonetheless, you see this manner of dress at most reenactments becasue it is simpler and more comfortable than dressing truly correct. I think most guys are happy enough that they were able to convince their wifes to come to the reenactment at all, so they don't really puch the "authenticity" issue with them.
This painting is really unique in that it shows common working women in the mode of undress out in public. The only women so dress, however, are the ones actively working at a messy job. This does not mean women should be wearing sleeveless jumps around camp, but it does mean that even in the 18th century women took pains to not ruin their clothes.
The same thinking applies to men. You never seem men wearing just a shirt and rarely see them wearing just a waistcoat over a shirt. Almost always do men wear a jacket or coat. The only exception to this are when you see scenes of men working at a messy job like blacksmithing, or perhaps in a street brawl (gotta love Hogarth).
With no further adu, here is a part of the painting showing the jacket-less washerwomen: http://www.middlesexvillagetrading.com/images/NonBiz/washerwomen1775.JPG
On a trip to pick up a roll of roofing, the guy who had it offered me some other stuff. Instead of sorting through it, I offered to clean out his shed and disperse the stuff for him, either to other freecycle people or to the local "swap shop".
In the boxes of stuff was a little stack of art prints, suitable for framing. Several of them were prints from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and one in particular caught my attention. It shows a ruined bridge, a group of washerwomen on the bridge's footing, and a guy across the little river "checking them out".
At first, I got a chuckle out of the guy checking out cleavage, thinking that not much has changed since the painting was done in 1775. Then I noticed the clothing details. The guy is interesting in that he is wearing a fabric cap under his tricorn. I've never seen that done before.
It's the woman who really stand out though. There are a few people on the bridge, and they are dressed in typical bedgowns like we are used to seeing. The women under the bridge, doing the laundry, however, are wearing jumps and sleeveless bodices!
Yup, the very garments that have stuck in my craw at reenactments for years. Jumps and stays are undergarments that you rarely see in English paintings because it was not socially acceptable to wear them out in public. This would be akin to walking around on Main Street in a bra. Nonetheless, you see this manner of dress at most reenactments becasue it is simpler and more comfortable than dressing truly correct. I think most guys are happy enough that they were able to convince their wifes to come to the reenactment at all, so they don't really puch the "authenticity" issue with them.
This painting is really unique in that it shows common working women in the mode of undress out in public. The only women so dress, however, are the ones actively working at a messy job. This does not mean women should be wearing sleeveless jumps around camp, but it does mean that even in the 18th century women took pains to not ruin their clothes.
The same thinking applies to men. You never seem men wearing just a shirt and rarely see them wearing just a waistcoat over a shirt. Almost always do men wear a jacket or coat. The only exception to this are when you see scenes of men working at a messy job like blacksmithing, or perhaps in a street brawl (gotta love Hogarth).
With no further adu, here is a part of the painting showing the jacket-less washerwomen: http://www.middlesexvillagetrading.com/images/NonBiz/washerwomen1775.JPG
posted by MVTCoPete | 10:21 AM
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