8

Notes on the Sitter’s Attire

Bianca Capello’s sumptuous outfit documents her wealth and status.
This fashionable Italian lady wears the close-fitting low-cut bodice popular
 during the Renaissance. Her left, possibly loosely attached, sleeve
ends in two small parallel bulges decorated with slits placed at regular
intervals.

Her low-cut dress reveals a chemise made of fine white linen. The artist
focuses on the patterns of the extremely delicate needle lace; he carefully
differentiates between two different patterns. Both feature the geometrical
designs popular in the

16th

century. The sitter’s bosom is covered with a
lace edged in semi-circles; it both covers and reveals Bianca’s soft skin,
creating a subtle tension.

The chemise’s lace trimmings feature a different pattern; gathered into
lavish folds, the lace surrounds her neck like a ruff and is edged in triangles.


Producing such exquisite linen needle lace was extremely time-consuming
 and was done by professionals, making it hugely expensive. The
fact that it served no practical purpose but was merely a precious accessory
 proclaims the wearer’s status and rank.

Note the subtle interplay between openwork and closed lace, between
emptiness and opulence; each reflects the light differently and hides or
uncovers the dark robe and/or the dark background of the painting.

The artist contrasts the dark dress and the brilliant white lace, but he
also combines them to create a harmonious whole, which reflects contemporary
 fashion. The filigree lace repeatedly reveals the sitter’s dark robe,
and together they form a highly fashionable unit. The three rows of pearls
mediate between them, lying on the lace, hidden under it, or arranged on
the dark bodice.

Note also that the sitter’s dark silk dress is embroidered. This has two
functions: on the one hand, the embroidered pattern echoes that of the
lace; we see an x-shaped ornament with a central circle. On the other
hand, the embroidery makes the robe more three-dimensional. Although
the pattern is quite simple, its execution was time-consuming, especially
as precious silk threads were used.

The trimmings made of gold threads also function as 3-D elements;
we find them on the sleeve, and edging the décolleté.

16th

century Florence
 was celebrated both for the production of such trimmings and for
its silk.

Katja Schmitz-von Ledebur