The J. Paul Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum is one of my favourite museums of art. The facility sits on 750 acres in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles and is free to the public because J. P. Getty believed that art should be accessible to everyone.

I've been there several times and don't think I've come close to seeing it all. The breadth and size of the collection is mind-boggling. Besides the art, the complex itself (designed by architect Richard Meir) is both modern in its functional elegance and classic in its design. Even the gardens are a delight to the eye.

J. Paul Getty was a eclectic collector of art, furniture and objects des arts. On my recent visit, I discovered an entire pavilion of 18th century French furniture. Look at this delightful Turkish bed. Don't you just want to curl up on it with some friends?

J. Paul Getty Museum
1200 Getty Center Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90049

The Establishment of a Lace Making Industry in France

Dress c 1690 (Note the profusion of lace trimmings and the lace lappets).

Lace is said to have originated in Venice in the 1300s. Over time, centres of lace-making developed in other parts of Europe including Flanders, Dresden and France.

Designs of early bobbin and needle laces have a strong resemblance to one another due to the creation of pattern books, which were disseminated throughout Europe. The earliest lace pattern book is believed to be from 1524.

Making lace was a labour-intensive process. For example, a pair of men's ruffles made of Valenciennes lace (a type of bobbin lace with the motifs outlined by small pin holes) might take "10 months to produce, based on a 15-hour working day". Not surprisingly, lace was extremely costly.

As the dictates of fashion in the seventeenth century proscribed lace cuffs, ruffs, collars, and trimmings, the demand for Venitian lace (as well as lace from Flanders) resulted in a huge amount of capital flowing out of France. Louis XIV's brilliant finance minister, Colbert, authorized significant investment in a French lace-making industry in Normandy. This site may have been chosen because there was already the beginnings of a lace and braid industry in the Duchy of Alencon.

In 1665, a Royal Ordinance established the manufacture of Points de France with an exclusive right to supply the French Court.

In 1667, the sale or wearing of Venetian lace or any other foreign lace was prohibited in France.

This prohibition was taken very seriously and foreign laces were publicly burned. In 1670, R. Montague said: "They are so set in this country upon maintaining their own manufactures that only two days ago there was publicly burnt by the hangman a hundred thousand crowns worth of point de Venise, Flanders lace and other commodities that are forbid."

Initially, the French copied Italian lace designs. With the high level of Royal patronage, the centres of Alencon and Argentan eventually developed their own styles and characteristics. Alencon often has a horsehair stiffening for the picots (loops) which meant that it was more often used in winter when humidity swelled and stiffened the horsehair. Argentella uses hexagonal mesh, each side of which is worked with buttonhole stitches.

After the French Revolution and the banning of ruffles in 1794, production fell dramatically. Alencon lace continued to be produced in the 19th century.

In May, I will be visiting Normandy, specifically the the Musée Baron Gérard which has an impressive collection of the local lace in both bobbin and needle technique dating back to the 18th century. The collection has household items (tablecloths, doilies, pillows, curtains, bedspreads) as well as garments (infant Christening gowns, wedding veils, dresses and blouses).

The Rise of Marchandes de Modes and Rose Bertin

Paris has been the center of fashion since Louis XIV, the Sun King, recognized the symbolism inherent in his sartorial splendor. At the top of the French social hierarchy, the King's luxurious, elaborate and ostentatious clothing and accessories created the impression of power, grandeur and prosperity.

Members of the court were expected to follow the lavish dress of Louis XIV. It was recognized that proper dress could provide access to the King and a courtier by the name of Nicholas Faret wrote in 1636 that "clothing was one of the most useful expenditures made at court". The importance of dressing fashionably at court fueled the demand for luxury textiles, ribbons, lace, and related accessories.

Louis XIV's finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, designed economic policies that capitalized on this demand. Colbert emphasized the expansion of commerce and the production of textile and fashion-related industries in France. He also regulated the guilds that controlled the manufacture and sale of luxury goods.

Guilds were strictly regulated, with strict rules of conduct and quality control. There were approximately 125 different groups associated with dress (Savary de Bruslon's Dictionnaire Universale de Commerce of 1726). These groups could be categorized into three main groups:
1. manufacturers who provided the raw materials (eg., fabrics and trims)
2. craftsmen and women who produced garments and accessories (eg., corset makers, tailors, glove makers, hat makers, fan makers, jewelers, embroiderers)
3. merchants who sold the goods (mercers, drapers, linen merchants, furriers, hosiers)

Over time, mercers became more and more significant in the luxury goods trade in France. Since they were not allowed to manufacturer goods, only to sell finished products, they developed a range of techniques to make their wares more desirable. Items underwent the process of "enjoliver", prettying up, and shops became gathering places for the fashionable elite.

As fashions changed, with less emphasis on the textile itself and more emphasis given to the trims and accessories, fashion merchants became uniquely positioned to meet the needs of their customers. The marchandes de modes rose to the top of the fashion pyramid.

In 1776, when the guilds were restructured, the importance of the marchandes de modes in the merchant trade was recognized and a new separate guild was incorporated. This was one of the few guilds that allowed women.

The best known marchandes de modes is Rose Bertin (born by the name of Marie-Jeanne Bertin in 1747). Even before she was introduced to Marie Antoinette by the Duchess of Chartes in 1774, Bertin was considered a preeminent fashion merchant, and was known for her creativity, especially when it came to hats.

To be continued ....