The Language of Lace and Embroidery from the Court
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THE LANGUAGE OF LACE AND EMBROIDERY FROM THE COURT OF LOUIS XIV THROUGH TO CONTEMPORARY HAUTE COUTURE By Cathrine Lloyd A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Victoria University of Wellington 2015 2 i Abstract The history of thread work is a story of practicality and functionality, but it is also a tale of power, fashion, virtuosity, decorum, art and culture. Thread work has played a role as a visual language in France for many centuries, continually evolving in its techniques and range of expressive and stylistic possibilities and thus in its significance as a communicative medium. In more recent times, thread work has come to be considered as a form of social and cultural discourse in its own right that is consequently referred to as ‘visual rhetoric’. Following this unique form of visual discourse through the history of fashion allows consideration of the development of identity and gender roles in French society as well as the interrelated narratives of the creative processes involved in the production of lace and embroidery. These reflections lead in turn to consideration of the ways processes of production and consumption were disrupted and transformed by major events, by sumptuary laws and political edicts. The language of thread work has been encoded and decoded by all socio-economic classes, and is underwritten by tensions between power and dependency, rich and poor, light and dark, public show and private domesticity. It has the capacity to express identities and to enhance communities. In more recent times the reconsideration of the value of thread work in the design concepts of haute couture has seen a revitalisation of the appreciation of this medium in an industry associated with luxury, exclusivity and creativity. The language of thread-work remains ambivalent and complex in France today, signifying an innocuous ‘feminine’ pastime on the one hand, and a valued professional skill and cultural heritage on the other. i ii ii iii Acknowledgements I wish to thank first and foremost my supervisor, Dr Keren Chiaroni, who has been my friend and mentor for many years. Her appreciation of my work as a practitioner of embroidery and lace has encouraged me to widen my knowledge in the field of academic research, which has consolidated and stimulated my passion for thread work. Throughout many years of French study, culminating in this thesis, Dr Chiaroni has been an encouraging and inspirational teacher. I would like to thank Victoria University for assisting me to travel to Paris to further my research. I would also like to thank Jean Anderson for her support and patience. Thank you also to my family who have always encouraged me in my endeavours. Thank you to my daughter Jen, for her proof reading and advice, and my husband Nigel for his on- going support for my belief in life-long learning. iii iv Table of Contents Table of Figures ................................................................................................................ vii Chapter One: Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 Visual Rhetoric ............................................................................................................................. 6 Chapter Two: Interwoven Narratives of the Materiality and Fabrication of Embroidery and Lace. .................................................................................................... 13 History of embroidery .............................................................................................................13 Origins of Lace ............................................................................................................................14 Needle lace ....................................................................................................................................................... 14 Bobbin Lace ..................................................................................................................................................... 15 Point de Venise ............................................................................................................................................... 21 Point de France.............................................................................................................................................. 24 Who did the work? ....................................................................................................................27 Embroidery Guilds........................................................................................................................................ 30 Lace makers .................................................................................................................................................... 37 Colbert’s Sponsorship of the Lace Industry .....................................................................39 New Techniques and Industrialization. .............................................................................43 Chapter Three: The Language of Power .................................................................. 45 Royal Courts.................................................................................................................................45 Sumptuary Laws .........................................................................................................................50 Court Dress ..................................................................................................................................57 The Language of Lace ...............................................................................................................61 Representation of Lace and Embroidery in Paintings ..................................................66 Cleanliness ...................................................................................................................................73 Language of uniforms ...............................................................................................................77 Chapter Four: Changing Attitudes and the Domestication of Needlework . 83 Changing Representations: The new language of lace and embroidery in painting and in written texts. ................................................................................................89 Chapter Five: Patterns of Identity ............................................................................ 101 Breton Costume ....................................................................................................................... 105 Chapter Six: The Language of Haute Couture: the Expression of Excess in a Pragmatic World ............................................................................................................ 111 Les Années Folles .................................................................................................................... 115 iv v Protection of Haute Couture ............................................................................................... 117 House of Lesage ....................................................................................................................... 119 Embroidery and Fashion as Art ......................................................................................... 123 Chapter Seven: Conclusion ......................................................................................... 132 Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 137 v vi Table of Figures Figure 1. Illustration of bobbin lace technique, Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, Diderot, Denis and Jean le Rond d'Alembert Vol. 20 page 21:1. ARTFL Encyclopédie Project…………………… 17 Figure 2. Diagram of techniques of bobbin lace, Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, Diderot, Denis and Jean le Rond d'Alembert Vol. 20 page 21:1. ARTFL Encyclopédie Project………………..…... 18 Figure 3. Federico Vinciolo, Les singuliers et nouveaux pourtraicts, 1587, 42……….19 Figure 4. Bartolomeo Danieli, Design pattern, 1639. Etching, 34 x 49cm. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art…………………………………………………....... 20 Figure 5. Point de Venise border of needlelace, 17th century. 306.1 x 20.3 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art………...………………………………………….... 24 Figure 6. Pierre-Imbert Drevet, Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bossuet, 1723. engraving, 509 x 307mm. London, The British Museum. © Trustees of the British Museum. 25 Figure 7. Cravat End with monogram of Louis XIV, Bobbin lace, point d’Angleterre, Brussels, 1675-1715. Art Institute of Chicago………………………………….... 26 Figure 8. Saint-Aubin, Augustin de, Un atelier de broderie, 18th century. Black and brown ink drawing, 0.123 x 0.223m. Paris, Musée du Louvre, RMN.…………… 33 Figure 9. Jacques Launosnier, Entrevue de Louis XIV de France et de Philippe IV d'Espagne dans l'Île des Faisans en 1659, 17th century. Oil on canvas, 89.1 × 130 cm. Mans, Musée de Tessé……………………………………………….….47 Figure 10. Nanteuil, Louis XIV, 1664. Engraving, Bibliothèque de France…...…... 63 Figure 11. Hyacinthe Rigaud, Louis XIV, 1702. Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Paris…………………………………………………………………..… 67 Figure 12. Antoine-François Callet, Louis XVI, King of France and Navarre, 1789. Oil on canvas, 278 x 196 cm. Châteaux de Versailles……………………………