castle miniatures 16th century nobleman

[pipetrepid]

thinking of painting this figure. i`m having a diificult time finding references to clothing of the period. specifically, colors and especially patterns. anyone have any ideas. all help is appreciated. thank you.

 

[renarts]

Do an image search for Elizabethan Portraits. There is no limit to what you can do for colors or textures for this and the fashion for the period is common for French, English, Spanish, Dutch, German and Italian. Since portraiture is a big thing in this period, your problem will be one more of settling on what you will want to do.

 

[Tony Barton]

Avoid blue, which was regarded as a servant's colour in the 16th and 17th centuries. Green was unusual ( though certainly possible , but had to be dyed twice, making it expensive ).
So that leaves all the reds/oranges/crimsons , yellows and browns etc. And black was the most respectable colour throughout the period.

 

[Flint Mcrae]

Assume you refer to the figure 75-2 from Castle. Like you, I have the figure and have been trying to find some good references. Somebody told me that the figure is Henry IV of France, but I don't think this is correct even though the figure is wearing an order around his neck which looks the same as that worn by Henry IV in a portrait. So far the best reference that I have found is in "A Pictorial History of Costume" by Wolfgang Bruhn & Max Tilke published in the 1930's & republished 1988 (my copy is 1988). There are several costumes shown which are similar to what you are looking for.

I also have a 2 volume set "1618-1648 La Guerra dei 30 Anni" by Luca Stefano Cristini published 2007 but text is Italian. Plenty of color & b/w illustraions, mostly reproduction of paintings. Published by Iso Media but not easy to find but illustrations are fabulous. "The Historical Encyclopedia of Costume" by Albert Racinet has a few illustrations from this period.

Hope this helps. Derek Frost

 

[JGREEN]

William,

I'm painting that very figure right now. The medal around his neck is the Cross of the Order of the Holy Spirit, a French decoration. I've attached a pic. The ribbon would be sky blue. You can google it for more info. As far as the colors of the clothing, to the best of my knowledge you basically have free reign.

Jason

 

[pipetrepid]

Assume you refer to the figure 75-2 from Castle. Like you, I have the figure and have been trying to find some good references. Somebody told me that the figure is Henry IV of France, but I don't think this is correct even though the figure is wearing an order around his neck which looks the same as that worn by Henry IV in a portrait. So far the best reference that I have found is in "A Pictorial History of Costume" by Wolfgang Bruhn & Max Tilke published in the 1930's & republished 1988 (my copy is 1988). There are several costumes shown which are similar to what you are looking for.

I also have a 2 volume set "1618-1648 La Guerra dei 30 Anni" by Luca Stefano Cristini published 2007 but text is Italian. Plenty of color & b/w illustraions, mostly reproduction of paintings. Published by Iso Media but not easy to find but illustrations are fabulous. "The Historical Encyclopedia of Costume" by Albert Racinet has a few illustrations from this period.

Hope this helps. Derek Frost

derek, thanks for the recommend on "a pictorial history of costume". found one on ebay for $10.00 and figured it would be worth having the book. bill

 

[pipetrepid]

William,

I'm painting that very figure right now. The medal around his neck is the Cross of the Order of the Holy Spirit, a French decoration. I've attached a pic. The ribbon would be sky blue. You can google it for more info. As far as the colors of the clothing, to the best of my knowledge you basically have free reign.

Jason

jason, thanks for the tip on the medal. bill

 

[pipetrepid]

thanks to all for your help. i think i`m on the right track, now. great wealth of knowledge here and great, helpful people. glad i`m here!