The Ditchley Portrait - Queen Elizabeth I

Hey

This post is going to be art centric, mostly because I don't really have anything else to blog about and also I should probably start to get into the frame of mind of analysing art as uni starts next week, the break between summer school and semester one has seriously been too short for my liking.

 

This painting has come up a couple of times in different Art History courses I've taken and the painting itself and the symbolism it has is quite interesting so I thought I'd blog about it.

 

 

This is a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I and was commissioned to celebrate her attending the patron's party and also to get back into her good graces as he was living with his mistress (scandalous!).

 

She has her usual imagery which she used throughout her reign, most notably a 'face plate' which meant she looked eternally youthful even though she was a very old women.  She is shown standing over England, showing her as the protector, ruler and mother of the nation with her feet over Oxfordshire which was were the patron's house was.  Placing her outside the traditional everyday setting and into the celestial realm conveys her eternal youth and rule over England.  The fan in her had as well as her clothes show her status as an wealthy, aristocratic and powerful women and the pearls show her purity as the Virgin Queen.

 

The portrait was basically created to try and get into the Queen's good books by glorifying her as this great, powerful and youthful monarch.

 

Hope you all enjoyed this post.  I may have been a bit naughty and bought myself some beauty products which I do really need ;)  It's my birthday next week so they are kind of presents to myself.

           xoxo

Summer Clothes

Hey

So during the Summer I kind of made a vow to myself that I would wear more dresses and skirts rather than jeans, which I wear all the time.  I somewhat succeeded and thought I would share a few of my favourite pieces which I wore numerous times.

Printed dress on the left is one I got from Jay Jays and as soon as I saw it I loved it.  I loved the design of the print as well as the choice of colours; blue, purple and pink which are kind of my three favourite colours ever.  The dress is fitted and has a zip at the side.  It also has kind of a high neckline but it looks nice on me.

 

Red Velvet skirt top middle is from Boohoo and like with every other pieces of clothing I saw it and I knew I had to have it.  What I loved about it was first of all its colour and I loved how it shimmered thanks to the velvet and when I got it I discovered the velvet was in this cool design which just added to my love for this piece.  With this skirt I have this top which is from Postie Plus which is black and light grey and has flower and leaf designs on it and the two pieces work really well together.

 

Floral skirt bottom middle is from Valley Girl and from what I can remember I found it in one of their sale racks which was awesome for me :D.  I love the bright colourful flowers on it and gives the skirt a very summery feel to it.  I usually pair it with a coloured shirt over top, usually blue to match the flowers or purple.

 

Purple/Pinky dress on the right is a dress Mum got for me at The Warehouse and it's pretty much my go to dress if I'm going out shopping or uni as it's just easy to wear and simple.  I actually saw this dress in a different colour in one of The Warehouse's brochures and I really liked it so I was very excited when she came home with this.  I LOVE this colour which is kind of purple/pink and the material is very soft and is very comfortable to wear.

 

Hope you all enjoyed this post :D

          xoxox

Style Inspiration - Gossip Girl

Hey

So lately I've been getting back into some old TV series and re-watching from the start and remembering how awesome they were.  One of the series which I am completely OBSSESSED with is Gossip Girl.

 

There are sooooo many things I love about this show such as it being set in New York City, which is one of my dream destinations and also because of the fashion the characters wear.  I love both Serena and Blair's fashion but Blair is the one I am obsessed with.

These are just a few examples of Blair's fashion style.  I love how preppy her style is with a hint of vintage and also pin-up.  I also love her use of bright colours; looking specifically at her bright red leggings <3 <3.  I'm also a big fan of her use of headbands; I really really think this needs to be popular again! I seriously wish I could dress like this everyday.

Hope you all enjoyed this post!
           xoxo Gossip Girl ;p

Elf Collection

Hey

Sorry for the late post, I had my final exam for summer school on Monday so I've been cramming in hopes I can remember something useful.  Hopefully I did well.

 

I haven't bought any new makeup but I got some Elf products last year that I have not yet written about so I thought I would do it and give you all a break from art.

Elf Eyebrow Kit in Medium

I am obsessed with Shaaanxo and her makeup videos on YouTube and this product was one of her favourites for doing her eyebrows.  I wasn't sure was shade to go for so I went for medium just to be safe.  I haven't really used it yet, as my eyebrows are a mess and I don't have any proper brushes to use.  Hopefully this year once I get some money I can buy more stuff to add to my collection.

 

Elf Liquid Eyeliner

Shaaanxo also recommend this product in her beginners makeup video, with it being very easy to apply and remove.  I'm not really good with eyeliner so I've been using it as practice in trying to do winged eyeliner which is a bit hit and miss.  So far I haven't yet succeeded but it is easy to used and does come off easily when I make a complete mess of it.

 

Hope you all enjoyed this post, hopefully I can do more frequent posts as I have more free time.

          xoxo

Peter Paul Rubens

Hey

So I'm almost at the last leg of summer school, YAY, one two hour exam then I'm done for two weeks until semester one starts *sigh*.

 

I'm doing another art post today, mainly because I have no new makeup or nothing really other things to post, but once I get my allowance I can buy new things to write about.

 

This is a portrait of Marchesa Brigida Spinola Doria and so far it's my favourite portrait by Rubens, in fact it's even my most favourite portrait ever. 

 

I love the technique used in how Ruben's is able to paint fabrics especially satin really well and looks very realistic and I would think would look even more amazing up close and personal.  I love her delicate hands as well as her flawless face which is perfectly round and the intricacy of her ruff.  The grandeur and dramatic nature of the architecture and the red curtain behind her adds to the overall  spectacular nature of the portrait and was indicative of Ruben's style.

 

Hope you all enjoyed this post, hopefully next time I can come up with something different and cool.

                xoxox

17th Century Fashion

Hey

This is another post dedicated to fashion but with a difference.  One of lectures I had during summer school was on the different fashions of the 17th century and I found it fascinating the different types of dress there were and what the colour and material of the clothes said of the person who wore them.  When looking through examples of clothes I especially loved the two main types of skirt type for women which at the time clearly expressed where the sitter was from and illustrated the different fashions of different countries.

 

 

These two pictures are examples of different dress portrayed in two full length portraits and were painted around the same time.

 

On the left is Margaret of Austria, wife of King Phillip III of Spain and her dress is what is called a Spanish farthingale.  The characteristics of the dress include it's padded hip rolls and it's cone shape that falls to the ground.

On the right is Anna of Denmark, wife of King James I of England and her dress is called a French farthingale.  This type of dress is in a drum shape and falls short of the floor to reveal the feet of the women.

These examples show the different styles each country had with Spain being a Catholic, more conservative country having dress that covered the women up entirely complete with a close neck ruff.  In England on the other had, where it was Protestant the fashion was a little more revealing as seen with the Queen's open ruff and neckline showing of her chest.

Hope you enjoyed this post. It kind of combined Art History and fashion and shows that even back in the 17th century fashion was very important.
                     xoxox