Portrait Mystery
by Delaynna Trim, Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art Curator
Did you know that one way to date a portrait is to look at the fashions worn by the sitter? In “Portrait of a Lady” we don’t know who the person is, nor do we know the date. The area where the date is written has been altered in later years, so it could be incorrect. So, the best clue we have is to look at the clothing. A good place to start is the ruff collar. Ruffs were popular all-around Europe in the mid-1500s through mid-1600s. Ruffs were made out of linen and lace and were starched to stand out from the neck. They were separate from the rest of the garment for easy cleaning and starching. Ruffs were worn by the wealthy to show their wealth and status. First of all, it was expensive to purchase that much linen and lace. Then, you had to have servants to keep the ruff clean and starched. Obviously, you could not complete much work wearing a ruff. Some ruffs used as much as 20-30 meters (65 – 99 feet) of fabric with over 500 pleats.
Queen Elizabeth I popularized them in England. Everyone wanted to copy her style. Her successor, James I of England (James IV of Scotland) also wore them, but by the end of his reign, the ruffs were becoming lace collars that laid down instead of being pleated and standing out. Ruffs continued to be worn until the 17th century in the Netherlands.
While in this portrait and others, the ruff is white. There are many examples of dyed ruffs with blue, green, and yellow being popular colors. Both men and women wore ruffs, and even children wore them!
Along with the ruff, women during this time period also wore lace cuffs to match their ruff as you can see in this portrait.
Ruffs do continue to be worn today in some formal circumstances. Ruffs are part of the formal attire for bishops and other clergy in the Church of Denmark and a few other churches.
Another clue is her head covering. It is most likely a caul, which is basically a fancy hair net. Often beads were added for decoration. Less wealthy women wore a coif which was typically made of linen.
Based on these clues, it looks like our sitter is from the early 1600s. Of course, fashion can be misleading as some people wear fashions long after they are no longer in style, but assuming that for a formal portrait such as this one, the sitter would most likely be wearing their best clothing.
Art Project
You can make your own ruff collar out of paper! For this and other fashion projects, visit www.mgmoa.org/art-projects/
Paper Ruff Collar
Supplies: 4 sheets 8 ½ x 11” sized paper, scissors, hole punch, 20” ribbon or string
Fold paper in half lengthwise (repeat for all pieces of paper).
Cut along those folds.
Pleat your paper, beginning with the small end of the paper, fold the paper over (about ½ inch) repeat until the end of the paper making a zigzag effect.
Using a hole punch, make holes in the middle of each pleat along one side of each strip.
Using the ribbon, string your pleated papers together through the holes.
Spread out the ruffles or zigzags to create your ruff.
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