Habitus et cultus Matronarum Nobilu et Rusticarum (Clothing and Manners of Noblewomen and Countrywomen), Adriaen Matham (possibly), after Willem Pietersz Buytewech, 1619 - 1623

Habitus et cultus Matronarum Nobilu et Rusticarum (Clothing and Manners of Noblewomen and Countrywomen), Adriaen Matham (possibly), after Willem Pietersz Buytewech, 1619 - 1623

engraving, h 199mm × w 136mm More details

This series highlights the contrast between the clothing of Dutch noblewomen and that of women from the provinces. The regional clothing evolves slowly over time, while the fashionable attire of the elite is subject to foreign influences. For example, the woman in plate 1 wears a Spanish, conical farthingale beneath her skirt, while the woman in plate 2 wears the bellshaped version from France.