Old Rags

Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, with His Wife Amalia van Solms and Their Three Youngest Daughters by Gerard van Honthorst, ca 1647 the Netherlands, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Portrait of Anna Boudaen Courten by Saloman Mesdach, 1619 the Netherlands, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

I love the fabric

Portrait of Susanna Reael by Isaack Luttichuys, 1656 the Netherlands, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Click for a larger image.  The pattern on the lace is amazingly detailed.

Kitchen interior with the parable of the rich man and the poor Lazarus by anonymous, ca 1610 the Netherlands, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Portrait of Isabella Coymans by Frans Hals, 1650-52 the Netherlands

The Concert by Gerard ter Borch the Younger, 1655 the Netherlands, Gemäldegalerie

The Artist’s Sisters, Gesilda And Catharina, Dressed As Shepherdess by Gerard ter Borch the Younger, mid-17th century Netherlands

Stays and busk, 1660’s England, the V&A Museum

Stays (a stiff corset) were essential garments in the fashionable woman’s wardrobe throughout the 17th century. Some sort of stiffening of a woman’s gown had been part of dress construction since the early 16th century. Sometimes it was added to the outer bodice; sometimes it was in the form of separate stays worn under the gown. Originally the stiffening served the purpose of preventing the expensive and elaborately decorated fabric of the gown from wrinkling. However, because stays could mould the female torso, they became essential for producing whatever shape was considered fashionable.

Anna of Austria by Bartolomé González y Serrano, 1616 Spain, Museo del Prado

La Demande en Mariage by Frederic Soulacroix, unknown date