Baroque is a style with different stylistic characteristics
One trend refers more to the austere, classical Greek and Roman designs, while the other is decidedly more decorative, and this ornamentation is sometimes transferred to the external elements of the architecture. The birth of this style is linked to the Counter-Reformation and the activities of the Jesuit order, which – in accordance with the recommendations of the Council of Trent – gave art a propagandistic character, amounting on the one hand to the fight against religious reformation and on the other to the reassertion of the faith. The Baroque era also saw an incredible flowering of palace architecture. It was then that the type of palace located between a courtyard and a garden, which originated in France (Versailles) and was imitated throughout Europe, was developed, to which the Branicki residence in Białystok also belongs. The most prominent architects of the Baroque era include G. Bernini (among others, the author of the colonnade in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome), J. Hardouin – Mansart (the palace of Versailles), C. Perrault (the columned facade of the Louvre), while in Poland Tielman of Gameren (among others, St. Anne’s Church in Kraków, the reconstruction of the Branicki Palace in Białystok), A. Locci (the royal palace in Wilanów). Decorative sculpture also came to flourish during this era, becoming an important element of interior design. Characteristic of the Baroque were sculptural groups with allegorical and mythological themes, often set in palace gardens and composed with water devices (Roman fountains, including di Trevi).
The centre of European fashion shifted from Spain to France during this era, and Louis XIV, the Sun King, became the model and ideal of elegance and distinction for perhaps the entire aristocracy. At the Versailles court of Louis XIV (1638 – 1715), luxury and attention to appearance reached their peak; courtiers were prepared to pay a great price for the right to wear a kaftan similar to that worn by the king, embroidered with silk on a blue silk sea. Ladies paid particular attention to their hands, which Anton van Dyck(1599 -1641), one of the most famous portraitists of the era, considered the most beautiful part of a woman’s body. White, impeccably groomed exquisite hands were extremely fashionable in the 17th century.
Cosmetics
The fashion for using them came to Poland from Italy and France, perhaps also from the Orient. The type of cosmetics used was determined by the standard of living. Noblewomen used to remove spots, freckles and excessive facial hair to achieve a beautiful and smooth complexion. The whiteness of the lic was a kind of sign of superiority. These treatments were carried out by ladies using a variety of vodkas, ointments and oils. Used in Europe for two thousand years, facial whitewash was made from lead combined with chalk, or as a paste with vinegar and egg whites. They were applied to the face in a thick layer so as to hide the colour and texture of the skin. With red, the eye could be enlivened, with black, the eyebrows enlarged and, finally, with blue, the course of delicate veins could be marked. As the sun was the greatest enemy of fair skin, various skin-whitening ointments were used. Dye, later pink, was also an important cosmetic article. As the fashion for rosy cheeks was in force, women tried to have them as flushed as possible. Lipstick was a kind of symbol for being ready to enjoy life’s pleasures, so as long as ladies used it they felt young and ready to enjoy life’s delights. Completing the fashionable ensemble was an exquisite hairstyle and mask. The black mask became a complement to even everyday attire, and helped ladies with romantic and political intrigue. A black, silk or velvet mask was also very necessary for other reasons, as it not only provided protection from the cold and bad air, but also helped to conceal beauty defects. A good complexion was highly valued in every era. Long nails painted in luminous colours were also fashionable, as were bow ties, the symbolism of which was extremely important. Topping it all off was, of course, the perfume.
Hairstyle
Hairstyle in the seventeenth century had three basic models; we can find them in the hairstyles of the Polish queens, of French origin, Marie Louise and Kazimiera. The first was a child’s hairstyle, known as à l’enfant – the hair was parted in the middle with an even parting, laid flat to the sides on top of the head, and dishevelled over the ears, which fitted in well with the then-prevalent sloping shoulder line. When the Infanta Maria Theresa arrived in France in the mid-17th century to marry King Louis XIV, she wore her hair – in line with Spanish fashion – pinned up rather than down. Such hairstyles were repeatedly painted by the court painter of the Spanish court, Diego Velazquez. The next hairstyle, à la Madame Sevigne, was as follows: a small fringe above the forehead and long, prominent curls above the ears were added to the previous model. Finally, the last hairstyle was almost a symbol of the late years of Louis XIV’s reign: women, following the model of men’s wigs, pinned their hair up very high in front with padded lace.
Wigs
The Baroque era was also the era of the almost undivided reign of wigs, which also had symbolic functions. The English term bigwig, literally meaning big wig, also referred to an important person, and emerged thanks to European aristocrats wearing such wigs in the 17th and 18th centuries. Over time, wigs became a particularly favourite headgear of every fashionable European. The fashion for wearing them began earlier, at the court of Louis XIII. Initially, small wigs were worn, but in line with fashion they became larger and larger. The men cut off the braids they had been wearing up to that point and put on hairstyled and heavily powdered, sometimes very expensive wigs, which became, as it were, a symbol of belonging to the best company. At the turn of this century, men’s wigs, parted in the middle, created cascades of waves on either side of their faces, flowing down to their shoulders. As long as Louis XIV reigned, big wigs were in force, with the locks pulled back and piled high, falling down the back. The Sun King’s successor, Louis XV, had nice and long hair. So he didn’t hide them under his wigs, but braided them into a braid, which was tucked into a pouch and decorated with a wide black bow. The hair was crimped at the front and arranged in locks above the ears. Another fashionable hairstyle was the big wig, combed a la cabriolet , wavy but without many curls, finished with a curly fringe . A small metal clamp was used to secure the hair in the back. Some men’s hairstyles were virtually the same as those of the women. Women also wore wigs. Unfortunately, this fashion was also associated with an inconvenience, with small creatures breeding in the wigs, for which powder was the perfect breeding ground. This forced all elegant company to carry a hammer and tongs with them. Wigs, which came to Poland from the West in the mid-seventeenth century, were initially worn by kings, some magnates and fashionistas, but in the eighteenth century also by a significant proportion of the nobility and bourgeoisie. The Polish nobility from the mid-17th century onwards mostly wore their hair shaved, leaving a little more hair at the front of the head. Following the example of the nobility, burghers also shortened their hairstyles .
The magnificent hairstyles were still decorated with strings of pearls, ribbons, miniatures of landscapes and sailing ships and even battle scenes, not to mention flowers and fruit. In 1780, the entrance to London’s St Paul’s Cathedral had to be raised by 1.5 metres because hairstyles that were too high prevented elegant ladies from entering. This was not the only inconvenience – it was also difficult to get into the carriage in such hairstyles.
Around 1720, during the reign of Louis XV, a new, somewhat frivolous and very idyllic style emerged – Rococo, often considered the last phase of the Baroque. The name of this sophisticated style comes from the French word rocaille, meaning a decorative motif with an irregular shape and flowing contours, mimicking a seashell. The Rococo was born in France. It was the style set by Madame Pompadour that simplified the hairstyle considerably. Strands of hair were now combed smoothly over the head, so that any decorative pins were now very prominent. In the early 1960s, the 18th hairstyle changed again and became the most essential element of women’s fashion. Beards and moustaches were absolutely unacceptable. Even more so as many men were whitening and blushing their faces.
Jolanta Szczygieł-Rogowska
