31/08/2024
Three weeks ago we were lucky enough to view the Van D**e imitation of Daniel Mijtens Portrait of Henrietta Maria (Charles I's Queen) which depicts Henrietta in the blue silk riding attire shown in the 1630 portrait of the couple "Departing for the Chase". This is one of the most fascinating aspects of recreating a historical costume based on a portrait, the detective work in tracking down paintings, contemporary copies, accounts, wardrobe inventories and other sources. Frequently court painters would invent fantastic outfits for their subjects, however in this instance every indication suggests that this was a real garment (now lost) which we had the pleasure of recreating.
