PORTRET KAZIMIERY Z POTOCKICH WILŻYNY JAKO DOKUMENT EWOLUCJI DAMSKICH STROJÓW DO JAZDY KONNEJ I POLOWAŃ W KOŃCU XVIII W.
PORTRAIT OF KAZIMIERA WILŻYNA NÉE POTOCKA AS A DOCUMENT OF THE EVOLUTION OF WOMEN’S HORSE RIDING AND HUNTING ATTIRE IN THE LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

Summary/Abstract: The portrait of Kazimiera Wilżyna née Potocka was painted by Kazimierz Wojniakowski in 1798 and is currently held in the collection of the Royal Castle in Warsaw – Museum. It is consideredan extremely valuable iconographical source that illustrates the evolution of women’s huntingand riding attire during the turn of the nineteenth century. It is the only portrait from this perioddepicting a Polish lady in such attire, which makes it all the more interesting. At that time, womenriding horses or hunting had a choice of two types of clothes suitable for these occasions. Onewas in the English style, a riding habit or redingote with a naturally marked waist. The otherwas the riding habit or redingote with the waistline fashionably raised high, referring to the lineof outfits that appeared in French and English fashion around 1794. The outfit depicted in theportrait of Kazimiera Wilżyna falls into the latter category and is the only example in Polish artof this latest trend in women’s fashion. Both the painting and the outfit presented are examples ofthe longevity of the phenomenon of Anglomania in Poland, one of the manifestations of whichwas the fashion of clothes in the English style. It is the style of Wilżyna’s outfit.

• Details
• Contents