| MY HOMEPAGE | MY SITE MAP | MY HOST SITE (Thanks!) |
"Countess Skavronsky" by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun
Previous Portrait
Next Portrait
Copyright held by Musee Jacquemart-Andre
This outfit shows oriental influences upon clothing. Wrap dresses with turbans were often considered "a la Turque" or "Moorish." The minimal use of petticoats under this dress--indicated by the unusual (for the 1790s) amount of cling to the crotch and legs--also evokes harem pants. The use of the large pillow as a prop is another clue to the mood the painting is trying to evoke. Turkish items were very popular; see the images of Women's Turkish Slippers, c. 1798-1806. A good source for information on the Oriental impact on Western fashion is Richard Martin and Harold Koda's Orientalism: Visions of the East in Western Dress. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994.