Reading Fashion in Art

Dress and fashion are essential to understanding art, and this book provides a step-by-step guide to analyzing dress in art, including paintings, photographs, drawings, and art installations. It includes iconic and lesser-known works of art and is perfect for students of fashion and art history.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 17 September 2020
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Dress and fashion play a vital role in our understanding of art, as they encompass various elements such as body stylization, textile embellishments, and symbolic colors. These elements convey a story and shed light on the cultural beliefs of the time in which artworks were created. In this concise and accessible book, we delve into the analysis of dress in art, encompassing paintings, photographs, drawings, and art installations.

The first section introduces visual analysis, providing a comprehensive guide to interpreting fashion and dress in artworks. It includes checklists and practical tips to aid the reader in understanding the visual cues and themes present in fashion and dress.

The second section presents case studies that explore how artworks can be analyzed from various perspectives, including status and identity, modernity, ideals of beauty, gender, race, globalization, and politics. These case studies showcase iconic and lesser-known works of art by renowned artists such as Elisabeth Vigée le Brun, Thomas Gainsborough, James Jacques Tissot, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Yinka Shonibare, Mickalene Thomas, Kent Monkman, and many others.

Reading Fashion in Art is an invaluable resource for students of fashion who are embarking on their journey into art history. It offers a comprehensive and systematic approach to analyzing dress in art, enabling students to develop a critical eye and gain a deeper appreciation for the visual language of fashion. Moreover, this book is a must-have for art history students who are studying dress in art, as it provides a comprehensive reference guide for gallery visitors. The step-by-step methodology empowers readers to examine any work of art that features dressed or undressed bodies, fostering a confident and nuanced critical analysis of what they observe.

In conclusion, dress and fashion are integral components of art, and this book offers a valuable guide to their analysis. By exploring the visual cues and themes present in fashion and dress, readers can gain a deeper understanding of the artworks they encounter and develop a critical appreciation for the artistic expression of the human body. Whether you are a student of fashion or art history, Reading Fashion in Art is a must-read that will enrich your knowledge and enhance your visual literacy.

Weight: 628g
Dimension: 190 x 245 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350032705