Fashion and Costume

For classic paintings such as David and Goliath by Caravaggio and David and Goliath by Carlo Dolci, what would be an interesting angle? 

(Source:  Image Quest)

 

Here is one idea:

I have a research paper due this Wednesday on David and Goliath by Caravaggio and David and Goliath by Carlo Dolci. I want to discuss how the choice of costume contribute to the reading of this painting. I want to know if you have any recommendation on what Tisch books/ reference to look at. Would costume/ Fashion of 17th century be a good direction to go?

There have been research for Costume Design, The Evolution of Fashion, Medieval Dress Codes,  and, Tisch library has a collection to support them. Let’s pull out a couple for this particular topic in discussion:

Clothing Culture, 1350-1650 / edited by Catherine Richardson.

Renaissance Dress in Italy 1400-1500 / Jacqueline Herald.

The Clothing of the Renaissance World: Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas: Cesare Vecellio’s Habiti Antichi et Moderni / [essay and translation by] Margaret F. Rosenthal and Ann Rosalind Jones.

A Well-Fashioned Image: Clothing and Costume in European Art, 1500-1850 / edited by Elizabeth Rodini and Elissa B. Weaver ; with contributions by Kristen Ina Grimes … [et al.].

Merchants, Princes and Painters: Silk Fabrics in Italian and Northern Paintings, 1300-1550 / Lisa Monnas.

After browsing through these general titles for contextual contents, we can focus on the paintings/painters next:

Benedict Nicolson. Caravaggio and the Caravaggesques: Some Recent Research The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 116, No. 859, Special Issue Devoted to Caravaggio and the Caravaggesques  (Oct., 1974), pp. 565+602-616+622.

 Janis C. Bell. Some Seventeenth-Century Appraisals of Caravaggio’s Coloring  Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 14, No. 27  (1993), pp. 103-129

Always check to see if these authors have published new scholarship on their topics.