Uncloaking the kapmantel in Belle Époque Bruges the symbolist potential of a picturesque motif in art
Around 1900, the city of Bruges was a picturesque locus, considered by many as a 'capital' of symbolism, attracting artists and writers from every corner. One of the motifs that they frequently described and depicted at the time – aside from the usual suspects like canals and street views...
Gespeichert in:
| Veröffentlicht in: | Oud-Holland |
|---|---|
| 1. Verfasser: | |
| Format: | UnknownFormat |
| Sprache: | eng |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2021
|
| Schlagworte: | |
| Tags: |
Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
|
Tag hinzufügen | Zusammenfassung: | Around 1900, the city of Bruges was a picturesque locus, considered by many as a 'capital' of symbolism, attracting artists and writers from every corner. One of the motifs that they frequently described and depicted at the time – aside from the usual suspects like canals and street views – was the black, hooded cloak or 'kapmantel' worn by local women. This article analyses the remarkable kapmantel by examining the reasons behind its popularity in symbolist art in particular. The author argues that the depiction of kapmantels played on a number of widespread tropes from the early nineteenth century onwards. They derive from the superficial picturesque language of tourism, as published in travelogues, printed costume series, and Belle Époque postcards. While both of these visual sources first and foremost frame the kapmantel as a typical costume from Bruges, they also resonate with tropes stemming from written reports that explain the kapmantel as a dress of the lower class, the religious habit of beguines, and even as a veil to cover the beauty of girls. All of these very different associations were used by symbolists in their art works. However, they can be divided into four groups, each, less or more, with its particular meanings or symbols. In some symbolist art works the kapmantel can be understood as an equaliser, both formally and socially. Or the motif can be interpreted as a mourning cloak in a city that – since Georges Rodenbach's 1892 novel Bruges-la-Morte – was associated with death. At the same time, Rodenbach’s oeuvre frequently mentions the local piety, including beguines, suggesting that the kapmantel had a religious purpose. Lastly, the attire became a symbol of mysterious occultation with references to hidden confraternities – because of the way it camouflaged a person’s identity. Altogether, the depiction and perception of the kapmantel show an ambiguous and multilayered interdependence between picturesque costume tropes and symbolism during the nineteenth century. |
|---|---|
| Beschreibung: | Illustrationen |
| ISSN: | 0030-672X |