Sixteenth century costume books' iconography in the construction of national identities and their reception

• Grant number: 13/04251-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2013
• End date: March 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Art Fundamentals and Criticism
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Cesar Marques Filho
• Grantee: Larissa Sousa de Carvalho
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 15/13164-7 - Investigating the concept of identity in sixteenth century costume books, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

During the Cinquecento, especially in the second half of the century, there was a blooming of publications about the customs and clothing of the various regions hitherto known, along with the interest of collecting, organizing and mapping exotic items brought from the exploratory voyages and carefully stored in Cabinet of Curiosities around Europe. This research seeks to problematize an interconnected network of publications, which twelve were selected for a closer examination, since an iconographic repertoire was created from the partial repetition of this content across nearly three decades and in different locations. We propose a mapping and a reflective analysis of these "atlas of appearances" (their appearance, context, characteristics, structure, peculiarities, goals etc.). Likewise we would like to inquire, mainly through their iconographic appraisal, how some national stereotypes and social types were built during this century. Moreover, the repetition of the images indicates something specific, since they are not a random artistic creation, but a strong conception that remains over the decades to build identities through this almost hegemonic iconography (creation of a gallery of images analyzed through a digital catalog). The costume book - "livro de vestuário" in Portuguese - as they are known, is a mean to understanding social, aesthetic, and political dynamics of the production of that time and their material culture. Our study also contribute in this sense, whereas several discussions starting from these publications to understanding a broader and richer context (artistic manifestations and socio-cultural environment of the sixteenth century). Finally, we wish to approach the reception of such imagery and textual content, i.e. to investigate the resonance of this iconography in various regions and temporalities.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

CARVALHO, Larissa Sousa de. Mapping sixteenth-century costume books and the fashion literature in Brazil. 2018. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas Campinas, SP.