DOI issue:
No. 90 (September, 1900)
DOI article:Lees, Frederic: Round the exhibition, [2] - A palace of dress
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19785#0261
A Palace of Dress
followed with amusement
and eager interest by the
onlookers. The rude fur-
niture and the utensils
upon the rough walls—so
strikingly in contrast to the
elegance of the visitors—
are the same nowadays as
they were far back in his-
tory, so this portion of the
tableau was prepared with
less difficulty than the
dresses. More purely
Roman is the second
picture, representing the
Roman atrium at the time
of Trajan; but I much
prefer the Egyptian interior,
on account as much as any-
thing of its rich colouring.
There is little to choose, "the vision of joan of arc" from the original drawing
however, between any of the ]!y t. thomas
tableaux representing the
early history of dress, all being worthy of mention, permitted it. How dramatic, for instance, is that
nay, more than that, lengthy analysis if space only representation of Gallic women of the first century
peering from the mouth of their cave
at the approaching enemy—it is easy
to imagine that one can see the glint in
the sun of the helmets of the Roman
soldiers as they march across the hills.
M. Amedee Thierry's work PHistoire
des Gaulois was of great value in
supplying details for this episode in the
life of the Gauls. As for the jewels
worn by the women, the spear, net and
other articles, these were copied from
specimens in the St. Germain Museum,
so rich in documents relating to the
early years of France. Again, could
anything be more impressive, more
magnificently cruel than the figure of
that Byzantine Empress of the next
tableau before whom her subjects, pro-
ceeding, almost crawling, up the steps
towards the throne, are prostrating
themselves to lise only after they have
kissed her feet in adoration ? Full of
a deep power is this richly coloured
marble audience chamber, hung with
the jewelled lamps of a mysterious
century, the magnificence of which has
faded like a passing rainbow. To an
'gabrielle d'estree " from the original drawing earlier Peri°d> the fourth Century,
by t. thomas belongs the next scene, familiar to all
230
followed with amusement
and eager interest by the
onlookers. The rude fur-
niture and the utensils
upon the rough walls—so
strikingly in contrast to the
elegance of the visitors—
are the same nowadays as
they were far back in his-
tory, so this portion of the
tableau was prepared with
less difficulty than the
dresses. More purely
Roman is the second
picture, representing the
Roman atrium at the time
of Trajan; but I much
prefer the Egyptian interior,
on account as much as any-
thing of its rich colouring.
There is little to choose, "the vision of joan of arc" from the original drawing
however, between any of the ]!y t. thomas
tableaux representing the
early history of dress, all being worthy of mention, permitted it. How dramatic, for instance, is that
nay, more than that, lengthy analysis if space only representation of Gallic women of the first century
peering from the mouth of their cave
at the approaching enemy—it is easy
to imagine that one can see the glint in
the sun of the helmets of the Roman
soldiers as they march across the hills.
M. Amedee Thierry's work PHistoire
des Gaulois was of great value in
supplying details for this episode in the
life of the Gauls. As for the jewels
worn by the women, the spear, net and
other articles, these were copied from
specimens in the St. Germain Museum,
so rich in documents relating to the
early years of France. Again, could
anything be more impressive, more
magnificently cruel than the figure of
that Byzantine Empress of the next
tableau before whom her subjects, pro-
ceeding, almost crawling, up the steps
towards the throne, are prostrating
themselves to lise only after they have
kissed her feet in adoration ? Full of
a deep power is this richly coloured
marble audience chamber, hung with
the jewelled lamps of a mysterious
century, the magnificence of which has
faded like a passing rainbow. To an
'gabrielle d'estree " from the original drawing earlier Peri°d> the fourth Century,
by t. thomas belongs the next scene, familiar to all
230