Costume Studies from Carcassonne
As many of you may remember, I toured several museums in France last year. This is the last – the Beau Arts Museum in the Bastide Saint Louis District of Carcassone.
Carcassonne is a city in two parts divided by the Aude River – the Medieval City and the Bastide Saint Louis, named after King Louis IX, who authorized its construction. The Bastide Saint Louis was built in 1260 but razed in 1355 by Edward, known as the Black Prince. It was rebuilt and fortified with a surrounding wall in 1359.
The Bastide Saint-Louis became the first cloth producer in the region in 1660, and the textile industry dominated the town between the 17th-18th centuries, peaking in 1810 when it became the center of cloth production in the Languedoc. By the 17th century, the moats were filled in and made into promenades and the fortified walls were opened. The drawbridge was converted in 1778 to the Portal des Jacobins, leading to the commercial and shopping district.
I didn’t find any traces of the city’s textile industry legacy in this district, not even a token fabric store:)
The Beau Arts Museum is housed in a building dating to the 16th century and houses modern works and religious artifacts in one wing, and a collection of some very large oil paintings in the other. For a general recap of the museum, please visit Bastide St. Louis – The Director’s Cut at Daveno Travels. This page will focus on the fashion studies I photographed in the “room of gigantic oil paintings.”
This one, painted by Jean-Paul Laurens in 1879, depicts the Albigensian Crusade. It depicts Bernard Delicieux (1260-1320), the Franciscan who resisted the Inquisition in Carcassonne and the imprisonment of the Cathars.
The noblewoman kneeling in the foreground was especially well detailed.
This one was painted by Dirck Hirs (1591-1656), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his festivals and ballroom scenes. I was especially taken by his shoes and the slash/puff treatment at his knee.
I did not capture the title of this painting nor its artist. But I did capture some of its detail…
…as well as another of the same genre…
“A Portrait de Femme” by Emile Roumens (1825-1901) depicted a delightful little scene of a would-be suitor apparently being rebuffed by a young woman who apparently had more interesting things to do. Again, the detailing of the clothing and her work kept my attention on this painting for several minutes.
I appreciated this pair – his for his cravat and loose lapels on his waistcoat, and for the lady in her Turkish inspired dress and hat.
And lastly, this lady for the use of lace in her gown
If anyone can identify the titles, dates and artists not already noted here, please drop me a line and I will add that information to this post.