Women and fashion in the second half of the 19th century: an exhibition in Rancate to understand its change

Kicking off on Oct. 15 is the exhibition"Divine Creature. Woman and Fashion in the Arts of the Second Nineteenth Century," which will be held at the Giovanni Züst Cantonal Art Gallery in Rancate.

The exhibition, curated by Mariangela Agliati Ruggia and Marialuisa Rizzini, will display until January 28, 2018 sixty sculptures and paintings, as well as a series of fans painted by great artists and precious period clothing to testify to the strong change that took place since about 1858 inwomen’s clothing in Europe. In fact, this period saw the birth ofHaute Couture in Paris and the first Grand Magasins spread in major European cities.In the second half of the nineteenth century, women from all walks of life wanted to be fashionable.

The evolution in women’s clothing is very visible in commissioned portraits: often the subjects are iconic women such as Margaret of Savoy or women belonging to the international aristocracy, such as Countess Carolina Maraini Sommaruga, to whom an entire section is devoted.

Among the artists are Vittorio Corcos, Giovanni Boldini, Giacomo Grosso, the Induno family, and Mosè Bianchi.

Fans are painted by Giovanni Segantini, Gaetano Previati, Federico Zandomeneghi, and Giuseppe De Nittis.

For information: www.ti.ch/zuest

Image: Vittorio Corcos, Portrait of Carolina Maraini Sommaruga (1901; oil on canvas, 224 x 130 cm; Rome, Foundation for the Swiss Institute)

Women and fashion in the second half of the 19th century: an exhibition in Rancate to understand its change

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