Hello Angels,

Fashion and art are two disciplines that share a bridge that links the two together which is creativity.

Throughout time artists helped the development of fashion today. Looking back to history, there are some popular names and works from contemporary movements to surrealist that from art to fashion.

Through time fashion and art influenced each other. Here are the popular dresses in paintings that changed fashion.

  • Jan Van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait

Th painting is considered one of the most comples and original paintings in Wester art because of its beauty, realistic and three dimensional experience.

Van Eyck approach to painting fabric in a realistic way. The wool in emerald green and ermine lined sleeves show the families’ wealth.

In that century, silk, wool, fur and velvet were rare and expensive fabrics. The fabrics were a status of wealth. The painting also highlight’s that how much one could affort to buy yards of fabric. Because her gown is so full and heavy.

  • Edvard Much, The Dance of Life

In the painting, there is a young couple are dancing. The women’s long red dress countour line around the man and runs into his clothes.

On other side of the couple there is a women who dressed in white. She looks happy. On the other side, there is an another woman dressed in black who is serious.

Munch inspired by symbolism and used colors to express feelings; white for joy, red for passion and black for sorrow.

If you examine paintings very carefully, artists always use symbolism to express feelings.

Meaning of colors are also very important in fashion and this painting is a great example for this.

  • James Tissot, Portrait of Miss Lloyd

James Tissot creating many paintings depicting women’s fashion during the late nineteenth century. He was always ahead of European fashion and knew latest fashion trends very well.

This painting represents that wide and heavy skirts of Victorian era predecessors were replaced by full bustles and narrower skirts.

In painting, Miss Lloyd is wearing a dress which would be worn out society in that years. The dress accentuated her body with tight waist and hourglass cut.

  • Pierre Auguste Renoir, Gabrielle in a Red Dress

Renoir painted Gabrielle Renard more than once. By 1808, Gabrielle had employed by Renoir for fourteen years as a housekeeper, nanny and model.

The painting’s color palette is gold, brownish red palette.

  • Tamara Lempicka, La Musicienne

 The art deco painter Tamara Lempicka painted portraits that explored independence and feminity during the 20th century.

The technique of casting sharp shadows with saturated color palette gives movement to the dress which gives illusion of floating on air. The dress’s pleats and short hemline represents 1920’s fashion which was revolution in women’s fashion. Women started to show their arms and legs while wearing pleated skirts that made it easier to move and dance in.

  • Gustave Klimt, Portrait of Adele Block Bauer I

Gustav Klimt approached fashion in different way. There is no layers upon layers of clothing or straight laced corsets. Woman in the painting is not in the garden or sitting on sofas but she floats in fold. The painting is a represantive of Bohemian fashion.

What is your favorite dress in painting? Let me know below

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