Intro to Late Period "Flemish"

HatsOr, Why Are You Wearing a Lampshade?BY BRIDGET WALKER

An Allegory of Autumn by Lucas Van Valkenborch (1535-1597)Grietje Pietersdr Codde by Adriaen

Thomasz. Key, 1586

Where Are We Again?

This is the coast of modern day Belgium and The Netherlands, with the east coast of England included for scale. According to Fynes Moryson, an Englishman traveling through the area in the 1590s, the cities of Bruges and Ghent are in Flanders, the city of Antwerp belongs to the Dutchy of the Brabant, and the city of Amsterdam is in South Holland. However, he explains, Ghent and Bruges were the major trading centers in the early 1500s. Consequently, foreigners often refer to the entire area as "Flemish". Antwerp is approximately fifty miles from Bruges and a hundred miles from Amsterdam.

Hairstyles

Upper class women rarely have their portraits painted without their headdresses. Luckily, Antwerp's many genre paintings can give us a clue. The hair is put up in what is most likely a form of hair taping. In the example on the left, the braids might be simply wrapped around the head. However, the woman on the right has her braids too far back for that. They must be sewn or pinned on. The hair at the front is occasionally padded in rolls out over the temples, but is much more likely to remain close to the head. At the end of the 1600s, when the French and English often dressed the hair over the forehead, the ladies of the Netherlands continued to pull their hair back smoothly.

The Cook by PieterAertsen, 1559 Market Scene by Pieter Aertsen

Oorijzers: "Ear Irons"

One of the most distinctive features of the Flemish veil and cap is the heart shape which stands away from the face. This area was well known for its collective skill with starch, and starch almost certainly does most of the shaping work. However, when the under-coif is behind the ears, the front corners require additional support. It is possible that the front brim could be wired, although that might cause difficulties with laundering the cap. Alternatively, an oorijzer might be used.

The oorijzer, literally "ear iron" is an external wire support which passes behind the nape and drops over the ears. The ends support the front corners of the coif. There are extant oorijzers from the 1580s on, but they are very simple wires. Good views in the pictorial record start from the mid 1600s when the oorijzer starts to become jewelry.

Oorijzer of the 1580s, (above), and a historical progression from the 1580s to modern times.

Werner van den Valckert (left) c.1600-50, and Rembrant c.1640

Looking for oorijzers in the portraiture of our own period is more difficult, but there some examples. The end of the oorijzer might catch inside a pocket, as may be happening on the upper left. The corner of the cap could be pinned through pinholes in the oorijzer itself, as is the upper right. Or the corner of the cap/veil could be folded and pinned around the end, as on the lower left. There are many pictures which do not depict the oorijzer itself, but do show a small fold in the corners of the veil which might indicate their use.

Portrait of a Lady by Frans Pourbus the Younger 1580

Jeanne Lullier byAntonis Mor, 1557

A Married Lady of Bruges, Aged 26, by Pieter Pourbus,1565

The Under Coif

The under coif can be difficult to see in many of the formal portraits. Luckily, the genre paintings can once again be relied upon to offer a better view. They can be large enough to cover all or part of the ears, or small enough to barely cover the braids. They could be constructed as a "caul", a circle of fabric gathered onto a band. Or, they might be be made up like the Elizabethan one piece coifs, with the back on the fold and a seam at the center top. The example on the right appears to show the center top seam.

Portrait of a Young Woman by Joachim Beuckelaer, 1562

The Egg Seller by Joachim Beuckelaer, 1565

The Next Layer: A Brief History of the Hovetcleet

The hovetcleet (literally head cloth), is first seen in the Burgundian/Flemish paintings of the 1480s as a veil over a truncated hennin. While in other countries the black lappets of the hennin gradually transformed into the ubiquitous "French" hood, the ladies of the Low Countries seem to have been enamored by the white veil. Over the first half of the Sixteenth Century the hovetcleet looses the extra height of the hennin, and begins to conform more to the shape of the head. Then the veil portion gradually shrinks in size.

After Ambrosius Benson, painted c. 1519-1550

Young Woman in Netherlandish Dress by Albrecht Dürer, 1521

Triptych of the Family Moreel by Hans Memling, 1484

Starched Veils:1560-1580

An Unknown Lady, Holding a Pomander on a Gold Chain by Pieter Janz. Pourbus, painted 1560-65

Portrait of a Woman with a Pomander by Willem Key, painted 1560-1568

"Allegory of Negligence" by Joachim Beuckelaer, circa 1550 - 1570

Anne Fernely, wife of Sir Thomas Gresham, by Anthonis Mor,1560-65.

White Caps: 1580-1600s

These caps are likely constructed as a one piece coif as the center seam is clearly visible, often with insertion lace. In some cases it may be hard to tell which layer the seam belongs to, but in others, such as the upper left and the Key portrait on the cover, the seam is clearly on the second layer. Occasionally, the cap will retain a small "tail" hanging down the back, but it is still clearly a hat, and not a veil. As the front portion which stands away from the head becomes larger, it may have been darted to control the fullness. This is mostly clearly seen in one of the Frans Pourbus portraits.

Ludovica Herbertsdr. Wijncoop by Jan Claesz. 1604

A Young Woman by Frans Pourbus,1581 Portrait of a lady, said to be Dame Bridget Mead, 1605

Caps With Standing Brims: 1590s-1610s

These caps have brims which are starched and encouraged to stand straight up and out from the face. They might be constructed like the one analyzed by Janet Arnold in Patterns of Fashion 4, #59. Or the brim might be a completely separate piece as it is often made entirely of lace or very fine, nearly transparent linen. Those made of linen are often represented with radiating lines, suggesting that they were also darted into shape. The image in the upper right has a good view of the back of the coif, and shows the brim standing up as well as the vestigial tail.

Portrait of Gretel Backer, after Pieter Pietersz.(I),1589

Village Feast by Hans Bol, before 1593

Portrait of a Young Lady Aged Twenty-Four, Circle Frans Pourbus the Elder, 1595

Veils with Swallow Tails or "Barbels"

A style thought of as "Flemish", but most usually associated with Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Unknown Dutch Artist.

Marytge Dedel by Isaac Claesz. van Swanenburg 1570

Jacob Willemsz Delff (The Elder), Self-Portrait with family, 1590

Dutch Lady, Lucas de Heere Pieter AertsenAnna Codde by Maerten van Heemskerck, c 1540.

Outer Wear: The Huik

The word huik translates as hood or cowl. It is one of the most distinctive elements of Netherlandish dress, and features prominently in the costume books and illustrated maps published at the end of the 1500s. When Fynes Moryson describes Flemish dress in his Itinerary, more then half of the text is devoted to the huik. There are four distinct styles, two of which I've named according to Moryson's description. The style on the upper left, where the veil stands away from the body, is perhaps least frequently represented in the visual record. Most frequent are the "saddle pommel" and "pot lid" styles. Occasionally the veil is worn alone, as seen on the lower left.

"Pot-lid" StyleDer Winter by Lucas van Valckenborch, 1595

"Saddle pommel" StyleHollander by Lucas de Heer

Flemish Woman Going to Churchby Lucas de Heer

A Poultry Market with the Prodigal Son in the Background by Joachim Beuckelaer, 1560-1574

Veil Worn Alone

Monkeys Starching RuffsDutch, 1551-1600

Market Scene by Pieter Aertsen

Market Scene by Pieter Aertsen

"Saddle Pommel"

"All Women in generall, when they goe out of the house, put on a hoyke or vaile which covers their heads, and hangs downe upon their backs to their legges; and this vaile in Holland is of a light stuffe or Kersie, and hath a kinde of horne rising over the forehead, not much unlike the old pummels of our Womens saddles, and they gather the Vaile with their hands to cover all their faces, but onely the eyes."

Fynes Moryson

Winter by Hans Bol Air by Joachim Beuckelaer Jost Amman

A woman and Her Maid from Holland in Hans Weigel's Trachtenbuch, 1577

"Pot-Lid"

"The Women of Flanders and Brabant weare Vailes altogether of some light fine stuffe, and fasten them about the hinder part and sides of their cap, so as they hang loosely, not close to the body, and leave their faces open to view, and these Caps are round, large, and flat to the head, and of Velvet, or at least guarded therewith, and are in forme like our potlids used to cover pots in the Kitchin."

Fynes Moryson

Der Winter by Lucas van Valckenborch,1595 A winter landscape with peasants skating and playing kolf on a frozen river, a town beyond by (after) Pieter The Younger Brueghel

Merchants from Brabant and Antwerp byAbraham de Bruyn, 1577

A Few Useful Resources

Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 4. Covers coifs, caps, ruffs and shirts.

The book Painting & the Market in Early Modern Antwerp by Elizabeth Honig. An art historian's view of the market genre paintings, especially of Aertsen and Beukelaer.

Noel Gieleghem's excellent tutorial How To Create A Stand-Alone 1570s-Style Linen Ruff at https://attachment.fbsbx.com/file_download.php?id=474415655903760&eid=ASuTRgg7FGF6GIqfuapE8rGwraqZrsPz1_ZlXKk9krk0rQJ-5ny1SGCY6HabAaqdei4&ext=1402134403&hash=ASuZmUeaaH3w2uLW. Useful for it's general information on using starch, and for creating the ruff that your late period "Flemish" hat will eventually demand.

Karinne Taylor's website: Clothing the Low Countries: Researching and Recreating Netherlandish Clothing From the Period 1480-1530 found at http://dutchrenaissanceclothing.wordpress.com/. For anyone interested in the other half of the 1500s.

All the pictures used in this class can be found on their own Pinterest board here: http://www.pinterest.com/margaretgeorge1/flemish-headdress-overview/

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me at margaret.george58@yahoo.com