3. MPS n°3- Foolish Elegance

MPS
MEN PORTRAITS SERIES
n°3
English text translation
Anne Menuhin
t
FOOLISH
ELEGANCE
menportraits.blogspot.com
© Francis Rousseau 2011-2020

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Nola Hatterman (1899-1944)
On the Terrace, portrait of Jimmy van der Lak
Stedelijk Amsterdam, 1930
The first elegant on the list poses a small
identity problem. Who was this man
impeccably dressed with jacket, waistcoat,
bow tie, hat with carefully raised brim and
gloves color "fresh butter" placed on the
edge of the table, next to a bock of beer
through which are reflected the red and
white checks of the tablecloth?
Jimmy van der Lak (1903-1990)!
Sure, but who was Jimmy van der Lak? A
Harlem dandy? A successful boxer? A
manager of top athletes? A professional
cabaret dancer? A famous actor or show
man? A little bit of everything at once but
also something even more unexpected ...
A native of Suriname, Jimmy arrived in
Amsterdam in 1925. He was then the only
"black" in the city. Being a curiosity, he
quickly gained a reputation for tap dancing.
In the 1930s, the competition became
fierce and the genre "tap dancer" gradually
going out of style, he became a bartender
and then an extra for the theater where he
even played the role of Othello for the
local film industry, before talkies.
It was while shooting one of these films
that he met the actress and painter Nola
Hatterman who offered to use him as a
model for her paintings.
So she painted this portrait of him, seated
like a great lord in the same restaurant
where he had previously been a simple
waiter.
Then, overnight, he became a boxer, the
clenched fist that we can see in this portrait
confirms that he must have had a pretty
persuasive right! He was very successful as
a boxer to the point of organising matches
in Amsterdam himself, then opening his
own boxing school!
Fortune continued to smile on him for a
while in the boxing rings, but he was not
satisfied and ended up becoming a pimp ...
still in Amsterdam.
It’s a pretty surprising career achievement,
but in those pre-war times when Jimmy
lived, the world of boxing had a reputation
for leading to everything and especially
pimping ... strong armed.
At least this rather extra-ordinary elegant
didn't end up being a dealer and preferred
to sell love on the street corners rather than
death.

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Girolamo de Romano detto Il Romanino (1484-1566)
Ritratto di uomo, c.1515-17
Royal Collection Trust - Windsor Castle - King's Closet
In Italy during the Renaissance, clothing became sumptuous and highlighted the
fabrics used: brocades, satins, velvets or silks.
This anonymous elegant painted by the Venetian Il Romanino wears, for
example, as a top garment, a chamarre or mantle in green silk velvet, open in
front, lined with silk with puffy armholes decorated with braids and trimmings.
The chamarre opens onto a very supple doublet giving a glimpse, through its
boat neckline, of a collarless shirt, gathered and embroidered.
From 1515, the date of this portrait, the beard was fashionable in Venice and the
hair shortened, two characteristics that have not escaped this elegant. At this time
too, it was Italy which reigned over the art of headgear throughout Europe and
imagined the most extravagant male hairstyles with the famous Florence toque or
with, as here, the flat bottomed felt hat decorated with a large feather which falls
to the side. The anonymous elegant of this painting wears a mixture of Florence
toque with raised brim and flat-bottomed hat with a disproportionate white
plume, all knotted in the oriental style, in a turban, just above the forehead with
one or more ribbons of silk or pieces cut from different fabrics…
Head shapes,
old wooden
hat shapes
and workshops of
Italian milliners
in the 16th century

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Jacob Ferdinand Voët (1639-1689)
Luis Francisco de la Cerda, IXe duke of Medinacelli,1684
Museo del Prado, Madrid.
The character represented here by the Flemish
painter Jacob Ferdiand Voët, is Luis Francisco de
la Cerda, ninth duke of Medinacelli. laden with a
dozen other such prestigious titles, he was a Grand
of Spain, member of the Council of State and the
Council of War, ambassador to the Holy See and
Viceroy of Naples. The royal attitude which he
adopts in this portrait, made barely two years
before he was Viceroy of Naples, is therefore not
usurped. It was after the death of King Carlos II
and after the difficult Spanish Succession, when he
became Prime Minister of King Philip V, that
things began to seriously deteriorate for him.
Opposed to the French influence of the Bourbons
at the Spanish Court, he revealed to the English in
1710 the secret plans for a truce between the
United Provinces and France. In doing so he
committed, quite consciously,high treason. This
earned him royal disgrace and imprisonment until
the end of his days at the Alcazar of Segovia, first at
Pamplona Castle where he died the following year.
The anti-French rage of this character suffered,
however, one exception: fashion… of which he was,
like many high-ranking characters, a victim! The
precision of Jacob Ferdinand Voët's painting allows
us to see how closely the Duke followed the
fashion canons of his time!
After 1680, the "haut de chausses" (literally "top of
the hose" or leggings today!) which were previously
puffy became form fitting. The Duke has them
form fitting! At the end of the heel, his stockings
(black in Spain, white in France or red in northern
Europe) are embroidered with gold thread which
extend the patterns painted on the "chausses"
(shoes) themselves covered with a bow "en aile du
moulin" ( in the form of a wind mill's sail). The
Duke has them!
From 1680, too, the "justaucorps" (tunic) loaded
with gold and silver thread trims was worn over the
jacket, which it completely concealed rendering it a
kind of underwear. The front and sleeves of the
jacket are made of rich fabric. The Duke has them!
The short sleeves of the justaucorps, rolled up to
the elbow are embroidered to reveal the bundled
lace of the shirt, the "petits oies". The "jabot" or
ruffle, an imposing lace ornament that succeeds the
"fraise", stiff pleated neck ruff, in the history of
costume, crowns the tunic and attaches to the
plastron (in front of the chest) by the collar of the
shirt. Its name comes from the pocket formed by a
bulge of the oesophagus in some birds-the "jabot".
The Duke has it all… and much more! Finally, the
sumptuous sculpted amour helmet , placed on the
table to the right of this Grand of Spain attesting to
his ancient lineage is surmounted by a plume of
two-tone ostrich feathers or "panache" matching the
colour of the whole outfit.

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Glyn Warren Philpot (1884 -1937)
Man in white, 1933
In the spring of 1931, Philpot moved to Paris, with his friend Vivian Forbes at the Hôtel Le Royal,
boulevard Raspail. Very quickly, he decided to take a studio for himself, at 216 Boulevard Raspail, a
Bauhaus style space, designed by Bruno el Houken for Helena Rubenstein, and divided into artists'
workshops. It was in this workshop that many of Philpot's best works were produced ...
The obviously elegant Man in White , no doubt painted during a stay in the Basque Country, remains
anonymous to this day. He may be a young Basque sportsman, as the beret seems to indicate…
Although, in the 1930s, the French Basque country and its games of Chistera and Cesta Punta were so
fashionable that the elegant young people adopted all the codes of the genre, even if they were neither
athletic nor Basque!
Far from being anonymous, on the other hand, this little white sport shirt of little pique jersey, a light
and particularly airy fabric, with short sleeves and a ribbed knit collar (to give it body and protect the
neck of the players from the sun) is not unknown to us. Originally intended for tennis players, it was
popularised by tennis champion René Lacoste and was to make an international career that has never
faltered since. From 1933, it became the first sportswear displaying the name of a brand, in this case:
Lacoste.
No crocodile or label on the one worn by our elegant youngster here, and for good reason ... it was 3
years before the birth of the crocodile brand! Elegant as he was, this anonymous man in white knew
how to maintain the immaculate whiteness of the original sportswear.
A touch of chic!
In the panoply of this elegant perfectionist, we also notice the beret firmly pressed on his head
although languidly tilted over one ear, like the Basque shepherds; the leather belt with silver buckle
clasping white pants (delicately gathered at the waist) and the watch on the wrist, worn like an expensive
jewel ...

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Gustave Caillebotte ( 1848-1894)
The Oarsman with the Top Hat, 1878
Private collection
Gustave Caillebotte’s passion for water sports was born during his summer
vacations on the family estate of Yerres, located by the river of the same
name where he canoed aboard boats called "perissoires". This passion is
reflected in the many paintings he devoted to this subject including La
Partie de Bateau or Le Canotier au Chapeau Haut-de-forme (1878)
opposite. Caillebotte painted here an elegant friend, probably staying on
the Caillebotte family property, barely twenty kilometers from Paris. It
would seem that the young guest impatient to indulge in his favorite sport,
having just arrived from Paris, simply took off his jacket, but kept his city
suit, pants, buttoned waistcoat, shirt with large stripes, bow tie and above
all ... top hat. In the background of the composition, two oarsmen
approach on board a perissoire, a long canoe varying between 4 and 8
meters, depending on whether it is intended for a simple outing or a race,
which Caillebotte represented many times in his works.
In contrast to the young city dweller who transports his elegance from the
suburbs directly to the Yerres, the two rowers wear loose fitting, white
outfits perfectly suited to the outdoor sports of this era: canoeing and
angling in particular. They also wear a strange oblong straw hat! In reality,
this impressive headgear is none other than a streamlined, waterway
version of the colonial helmets with which the British Foreign Office liked
to dress up its nationals wandering about in the colonies of the Empire.
For the oarsmen of the Yerres it was undoubtedly a way of suggesting, with
the sharp, anti British humour of the day, that the strolls in perissoires on
the Yerres were surely as dangerous as the expeditions on the shores of
Lake Tanganika conducted by Henry Morton Stanley and David
Livingtone… we presume!
1. Henry Morton Stanley
n the African jungle
2. En Perissoire sur l’Yerres
par Gustave Caillebotte

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Clovis Trouille (1869-1975) for Pierre Imans
Male Mannequin Head
Wax Figure N ° 947-3-451 S, circa 1930-40
Private collection
.
Pierre Imans started his business of window
mannequins in 1896. It operated at full speed between
the 1920s and the 1950s at No. 10 rue de Crussol, in
the 11th arrondissement of Paris. This business
address, on the border of the former district of tailors
and manufacturers of Parisian clothing, is indicated on
all the images and catalogs of Pierre Imans up until
1965, date of the definitive closure of the company.
The works that survived the closure can be seen today
in museums around the world, where they are
considered important evidence of an artistic genre in
its own right, too often relegated to the rank of the
minor art which we define by the generic name of
"modern commercial sculpture" ...
Pierre Imans was very aware of the "educational" work
he was doing. He called on many more or less famous
Parisian artists to produce them, the common point
between these men being a seasoned sense of humour
and especially a keen sense of observation able to
grasp and transcribe, exaggerating perhaps almost to
the point of but just avoiding caricature, the canons of
elegance of the time.
The French painter and sculptor Camille-Clovis
Trouille was one of Pierre Imans' recruits… and not
the least since he had a sulphurous reputation as an
artist at the same time anticlerical, antimilitarist and
above all "erotic" with his small nimble paintings of
which any " brothel ”worthy of the name had at least
one copy in its living room and in its bedrooms.
Traumatised by the horrors of the First World War,
Clovis Trouille - his real name - defined himself as
"Grand Master of Ceremonies, Everything is Allowed."
His erotic drawings were certainly very famous among
the public, nonetheless his name never appeared on
them. This anonymity suited him perfectly, because
he did not seek glory at all. "It is true that I have never
worked for a grand prize at any Venice biennial," he
said, "but rather to earn 10 years in prison as that is
what seems to me the most interesting". He also never
wanted to sell his works rationally, preferring barter to
currency which he considered "unreliable"! When he
agreed to part with one of them, he sometimes wanted
to recover them in order to add additional details: a
person, objects, or simply a mole on the face.. or
elsewhere ... Without doubt also a way to obtain a
small extension on his deal from Madame Arlette or
Madame Paulette of the capital!
Clovis Trouille started working in Pierre Imans' studio
around the 1920s and stayed there for 45 years,
producing on average two mannequin effigies per
week, which makes a little over 4000 heads of
mannequins, "pipe heads" or "bow heads" as he called
them according to whether they were feminine or
masculine, "bi-sextile years included" and this until the
final closure of the Imans Company! A fine example
of professional… and existential elegance!

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641)
Lord John Stuart and His Brother Lord Bernard-Stuart, 1638
National Gallery, Londres
The two young men who are represented on this
large composition, 2.37 by 1.46 meters, by Anthony
van Dyck, are the sixth son of the Duke of Lennox,
Lord John Stewart or Stuart (on the left), and his
seventh son, Lord Bernard Stewart (right), two
Franco-Scottish aristocrats, cousins of King Charles I
of England.
The two brothers are dressed in the height of
elegant fashion of their time, rich silk and satin
garments mixed with sumptuous high lace collars
and embroidered ornaments. James wears a cape
and doublet embroidered with gold thread patterns
in warm shades of gold and brown, only buttoned at
the top, also adorned with slashes opening onto a
white satin shirt. In contrast to the colors worn by his
older brother, Bernard’s clothes are in a fresh play
of blue and pearl gray with silver thread embroidery.
As their boots indicate and especially their spurs
which prepare them to mount their horses, they are
dressed to leave on a voyage. And indeed this
painting was ordered shortly before their departure
in 1639 for a Grand Tour of Europe which lasted 3
years.
John is standing on a step, leaning on a stone base,
looking into the distance beyond the spectator.
Bernard has his left leg on the step of the stone
platform where his elder brother is standing, his
sumptuously gloved left hand, placed on his hip, in a
fairly precious posture even though he wanted to
seem relaxed; he looks directly at the viewer and
raises the edge of his cape with his right hand (not
gloved) to reveal his pearl gray silk justaucorps
embroidered with silver thread and his "culottes" or
breeches (the name then given to pants). Like his
brother, he also wears leather boots with silver spurs
as well as a sword.
These two elegant young men who were promised
the best future were both killed while fighting for
King Charles I: James at the Battle of Cheriton in
1644, and Bernard the following year at the Battle of
Rowton Heath while he was the head of the Life
Guards.
This magnificent painting, one of the most
emblematic of Van Dyck, was preserved by the
Stuart family until 1672, the date of the death of
Charles Stuart, 3rd Duke of Richmond, when it
then passed through his sister, the Baroness Clifton
and her descendants to Theodosia Hyde, 10th
Baroness Clifton. It remained in the family until it
was sold around 1904 to the art dealer Sir George
Donaldson. It was then acquired by the banker Sir
Ernest Cassel and passed on to his greatgranddaughters
Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess
Mountbatten of Burma and Lady Pamela Hicks.
It was purchased by the National Gallery in London
in 1988.

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Gottfried Lindauer (1839–1926)
Chef Ngairo Rakaihikuroa at Wairarapa, 1880
Dunedin Public Art Gallery, New Zealand
Ngairo Rakai Hikuroa was the leader of a Maori community located on the
southeast coast of the North Island (New Zealand). His moko or motif
tattooed on the face is quite striking. It is enhanced by his hairstyle made of
two huia feathers, an endemic species of bird from the North Island, which
unfortunately disappeared at the beginning of the 20th century. The chief
also carries a taiaha, a weapon from 1.50 to 1.80 m long which was used in
hand-to-hand combat; this one specially sculpted for him is adorned with
white dog hair. His mako, an ear pendant made of a shark tooth, is dipped in
red wax. He also wears a korowai, a large white ritual coat with embroidered
geometric patterns, decorated with a collar made of woolen ribbon and
colored linen cords. The korowai was woven not on a loom with a shuttle but
with the fingers, the threads being attached to the end of each finger which
manipulated and braided them. A true work of art.
It is very likely that Lindauer executed this portrait from a photograph, the
chief Ngairo Rakai Hikuroa being known for his inability s to remain
motionless for a long time. This portrait is one of the 60 Maori portraits that
Lindauer painted in New Zealand at the end of the 19th century.

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Anna & Elena Balbusso
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare,
Illustration for Folio Society (2016)
Undoubtedly this woman is a man! He or she does not even try to hide his facial hair under the
sumptuous lace ruff and the jewelry he / she is wearing.
In reality, it is a portrait of a Renaissance actor performing a comedy by William Shakespeare. At
that time, women were prohibited from practicing the profession of actress. In the plays of
Shakespeare and his contemporaries, the female roles were therefore always played by men who
dressed up as women.
But often, in some of his plays, Shakespeare doubled this comic situation by creating a multiple
travesty for his actors; he made sure that these men while playing female roles in turn disguised
themselves as men to amplify the comic effect!
In Twelfth Night (The Night of Kings), the role of the beautiful Viola was played by a young man
who played the role of a girl but was forced to dress up as a boy (Cesario)! She loves Duke Orsino,
who loves Countess Olivia, who loves Cesario… Olivia s and Cesario are therefore embodied by the
same actor! Fortunately, everything is resolved when Viola’s brother Sebastian, believed to be dead,
returns. Nevertheless, throughout the duration of this piece, we only see Viola as Viola herself in a
single small scene of not even 5 minutes! Throughout the rest of the play, we see her as a boy,
embodying Cesario!
It’s even worse, or funnier, as you like, in As you like it! When Rosalind and Celia run away from
court, Rosalind dresses as a man. Then Shakespeare complicates the plot so that the male actor who
plays Rosalind proceeds to dress as a woman to help a friend get the favours of the girl he is
infatuated with! Irresistible for the public then who expected and adored all these imbroglios-- seeing
a man dressing as a woman who dresses as a man who cross-dresses as a woman!
England was not the only place where the theater practiced this confusion of genres: the same was
true in Japan in the Noh theater since the 13th century and in the Kabuki theater since the 17th
century, two types of theater in which all female roles were played by men dressed as women and
wearing female masks.
Ditto in China, where almost all of the female characters in the vast repertoire of the Traditional
Chinese Opera were performed and sung by men.

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Franz-Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873)
Maharadjah Duleep Singh,
last Maharajah of Punjab in 1854
The Royal Trust Collection
It is said that Queen Victoria, who never
hid her attraction to her colony of India
and its inhabitants, was literally fascinated
by Duleep Singh (1838-1893) when she
met him for the first time. He was barely
12 years old and had just been forced to
surrender his sovereignty over the
kingdom of Punjab. It must be said that
the dear boy did indeed have something
fascinating !!! He arrived in England with
the famous Koh-i-Nor diamond in his
luggage, a legendary stone of 105.602
carats, which he had from his father. On
July 3, 1850, he "presented" it, according
to the de rigueur euphemism. to Queen
Victoria, on the occasion of the 250th
anniversary of the English East India
Company.
To thank the young Maharajah for this
"presentation", which ended happily with
the inclusion of the Koh-i-Nor in the
British Crown (from where it has in fact
not moved since), the queen,
commissioned Franz Xavier
Winterhalter, famous painter of the great
people of the world at the time, to do a
portrait of the elegant Maharajah.
A small gesture considering the
sumptuous gift that the teenager had just
given her as if it was a mere trinket!
On July 10, 1854, the Queen wrote in her
journal:
"Winterhalter never stops raving about
the beauty and nobility of this young
Maharajah. During the pose sessions, he
is so kind and patient that he can stand
still for more than 2 hours! "
At the time of the portrait, the young man
had just turned 16 and he is shown
wearing a turban surmounted by an egret
feather in which is embedded the
fabulous Koh-i-Nor diamond… the same
one he had offered Victoria a few years
ago , but which was exceptionally
returned to him momentarily in order to
appear in this painting. He also wears
around his neck, to seal his friendship, a
miniature of Queen Victoria, produced
by Emily Eden and hung on five rows of
legendary pearls.
Having become a close friend of the
British royal family, whom he regularly
visited in Osborne, he also frequently
invited the Prince of Wales to hunting
parties in Suffolk. But despite his English
upbringing and comfortable lifestyle,
everything suddenly went wrong when he
decided to return to India in 1866.
There, recruited by members of the
former Punjâbî Court, he was inspired to
reclaim the throne he had given to
Victoria as a teenager!
Idea that he shouldn't have taken
seriously. Arrested in Aden, he was
forced to return to Europe and remain
under close surveillance. This did not
prevent him from maintaining, from this
time on, regular contacts with the
Punjab, the Irish revolutionaries and the
Russian government involved at that time
in what was called The Great Game--
manouvering for control of Central
Asia. Oddly, his health suddenly
deteriorated and he died in Paris, lonely,
in a luxurious hotel room suite ... of an
epilepsy attack, according to the official
version. His second wife, Maharani Ada,
was suspected of having been a spy in the
service of the British government and
probably having helped trigger the fatal
epilepsy attack.
Result: since then the Koh-i-Nor has had
the very bad reputation of bringing "woe
to those who part with it".
Rest assured, the Crown of England is
not ready to do that!

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE Marianne Loir (1715-1769)
Portrait of Monsieur de Fontaine
Stair Sainty Gallery, London
Monsieur de Fontaine wears a
justaucorps without collar, the Polish
style, in scarlet silk velvet entirely lined
with white fur, probably sable, with
generous wrist cuffs in the same fur.
The justaucorps, already in fashion under
Louis XIV, became, in the fitted version
seen here, the favorite costume of
gentlemen during the Regency.
Both simple and sumptuous Monsieur de
Fontaine wears his justaucorps over a
white silk waistcoat, which is no less so
with its elegant embroideries of red
flowers running over the pockets and
along the braid that borders them. The
floral waistcoat reveals a glimpse at the
neck of the discreet lace frill of his
highnecked shirt, although it is almost
invisible.
The same discreet lace mist airs the
sable sleeves.
Finally, he wears a courtier's wig known
as a "cadogan". Its poney tail is raised and
tied with a black satin ribbon. During the
reign of Louis XV, wearing this type of
wig was the privilege of aristocrats only; it
must imperatively be powdered as
advised by the Methodical Encyclopedia
by coating it with lard before sprinkling it
with wheat flour. From the middle of the
18th century, people preferred to use
perfumed fatty ointments rather than
lard.
Under his arm, we can see a tricorn hat
(three-cornered), folded, ancestor of the
slap hat.

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Anonymous photographer
Young Bavarian in Lederhosen, 1908.
,
This is an elegant Bavarian from the beginning of the century in traditional costume, which is nothing less than
the old-fashioned working garment used since the 15th century in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Trentino
Alto Adige.
This renowned costume, an essential accessory of the Munich Oktoberfest is composed of:
- LeTrachtenhut or small felt hat, usually green, from Tyrol. This one is surrounded by a band and decorated
with the famous chamois trophy, the Gambsbart, which comes from the neck of the animal; it is said that the
larger the trophy, the more skillful the hunter. So we can imagine that this one was particularly so!
- The suede coat-jacket, trimmed in leather, with stitched back cuffs and boar horn buttons, is worn directly on
the shirt which, when not in a red check pattern, must always be impeccably white .
- The Lederhosen are the key item of the Bavarian costume. They are particularly resistant pants in goatskin or
calfskin for the popular version, in chamois or deer skin for the luxurious version decorated with embroideries
that compete with one another in sumptuousness. Supported by suspenders (Hösentrager), the Lederhosen have
a pocket on the right leg, the Messertasche which serves as a knife sheath. Three cuts exist for these pants: ankle
length (Lange Lederhose); below the knee (Kniebund Lederhose) and above the knee (Kurte Lederhosen), the
latter being generally reserved for young men, as is the case in this photo.
- Wool socks covering the calf to the knee and embroidered with hunting patterns or scenes from the forest.
- Shoes with reinforced toes and studded soles (Haferlschuhe) were created, according to legend in 1803, by the
shoemaker Franz Schratt who was inspired by the stability of the goats' hooves.
Various accessories such as the large, richly embroidered belt adorned with bows complete this traditional
costume with timeless elegance ... and a legendary erotic charge.
Finally, we note that this elegant wears a brooch near his neck, a medallion containing a portrait of King Ludwig
II of Bavaria (fig. 3).

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Edward Curtis (1868-1952)
Bear Bull from Blackfoot people
Chief Bear Bull is not particularly one of the great heroes of the Black Foot tribe. If Edward Curtis
photographed him it is mainly because of the elegance of his hairstyle divided into three braids, two
hanging on the side and another upturned in a plume on the top of the forehead, arranged like a
bird's beak or an animal's horn, a well-known symbol of the Blackfoot nation The relationship
which the Blackfoot maintained with animals was a very respectful one. Wearing the name of an
animal (let alone 2) was not a coincidence. Before taking the an animal's name, the person had to
have the reputation throughout the tribe of deserving the main character trait. In the case of Bear
Bull one can imagine that he combined both the cunning of the bear and the dark power of the
bulls, which his horn of hair protruding forward easily suggests.
According to a legend, the Pied-noir nation was divided into three camps to better defend its
territory. Some time after this split, a man from the north camp reportedly visited the south-east
camp, and asked to see the chief, but each person he met told him that he was the chief; he
therefore named this tribe "Akainai" ("the tribe of several chiefs"), and it was this name which was,
subsequently, modified in "Kainai", the endonyme of the Gens-du-Sang.
On the other hand, the Gens-du-Sang allegedly named the visitor's tribe "Sik-sikah" ("Black feet")
because of their black moccasins.
The Blackfoot visitor then went to the third camp: seeing certain people wearing clothes made of
badly tanned skins, still garnished with pieces of dried meat, he called this tribe "Apikuni" ("Ugly
skin"), later changed to Pikuni.
Edward Sheriff Curtis was an American ethnologist photographer, one of the foremost social
anthropologists of Native Americans in North and West America. He left traces of their writings,
sound recordings of Indian songs and many photos on glass. Thus, in a non-exhaustive way, he
undertook the photographic inventory of the 80 existing tribes of Amerindia. The Amerindian
population, which was estimated at more than 1 million people in the 18th century, had dropped to
around 40,000 when he launched his project. Part of his work was published in a prodigious work of
20 volumes entitled: "The North American Indian", comprising 4000 pages of text, 2500
photographs, while in total, Curtis made nearly 50,000 shots.

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Francesco d'Ubertino Verdi detto Il Bacchiacca (1494-1557)
Courtier in red fur hat
Fondation Bemberg, Toulouse
This elegant young Renaissance man is wearing a magnificent flat hat in red fur which is
actually a Florentine adaptation of the very ancient and very noble Greek headgear: the petase.
The petase worn here is not in felt or straw, as usual, but in fur, and what's more, in fur dyed
red! The ribbon that keeps it attached is also unusual in its width and especially in that it is tied
on the top of the head and not under the chin.
This young Florentine aristocrat adapts in his own way, with an eye on facing the humidity of
the harsh winters on the banks of the Arno, this great classic of Mediterranean costume.
Adapt the shape to new textures, change the color, resize, imagine around…. Isn't this
ultimately what fashion has always done through its zealous emissaries that were the elegants
of all eras?
Traditionally, the petase was a hat with a broad, flexible and flat brim which was worn by
travelers in Greek antiquity; the cord, knotted s under the chin or behind the head, held it in
place in the wind or when its owner wanted to take it off while keeping it around the neck.
There are a plethora of illustrations of the petase (see images below) on ancient pottery as well
as on coins and ancient Greek statuary. Worn with the chlamyde by the ephebes at the
gymnasium, the Greeks thought that this headgear was of Thessalian origin.
In mythology, flanked by two wings, the petase was one of the attributes of the god Hermes.
Among the Etruscans, the braided straw petase was rather a simple peasant hat used for
protection from the sun during work in the fields.
Ancient Romans also wore it to protect themselves from the sun during outdoor theatrical
performances or circus games.

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Anselm Feuerbach (1829- 1880)
Selfportrait
National Gallery, London
In his many self-portraits, Anselm Feuerbach often portrays himself with a lit cigarette at his
fingertips, a posture that was considered to be the height of elegance in the mid-19th century. It
is among the Amerindian peoples of the north as well as the south, that appeared from the pre-
Columbian era, the popular use of smoking tobacco rolled up in different plant leaves. The
chiefs themselves, smoked it exclusively in sculpted and very ornate terracotta pipes.
Imported into Europe by the Conquistadores in the 16th century, tobacco quickly spread
either as snuff, or for chewing (chewing and spitting), or smoking with a pipe (in northern and
eastern Europe ), or smoking rolled in a corn husk, replaced a century later, by fine paper.
Tobacco rolled in paper was called Papelate. We find illustrations of this in various works by
Goya through figure smoking languidly and alway lying on the ground, as in La Cometa or La
Merienda (opposite). This type of consumption spread throughout Europe, with the notable
exception of France, which preferred nasal intake until the 19th century.
It was between 1800 and 1820 that rolling tobacco gradually became established in France,
after it was brought back from Spain by the soldiers of Napoleon I: tobacco and rolling paper
were then sold separately and cigarettes prepared manually.
The first manufactured cigarettes appeared in Spain around 1825.
In 1833, cigarette packs were sold under the name of cigarrillo or cigarrito, which derives from
the word cigarra (cicada).
In France, the word cigaret (little cigar) became feminized in cigarettes from 1831. In 1845, the
state monopoly was established for the manufacture of cigarettes. The same year, an
industrialist proposed a machine to roll cigarettes at home, under the brand of Cigaretta-
Factor. But, until 1870, it was the clay pipe which consumers continued to favor. It was not
until the end of the 19th century and the multiplication of machines allowing the industrial
manufacture of cigarettes that its consumption was democratized: while the cigarette makers
produced up to 1,200 cigarettes per day, these machines produced 600 per minute at the
beginning from the 20th century. From the 1990s, fashion changed radically: not only was it no
longer elegant to smoke tobacco, but it was accused - after several scientific studies had proved
it - of causing various very serious forms cancer. Exit the cigarette!

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
William Larkin (c .1580-1619) .
Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset, 1613
English Heritage - Kenwood House
The Suffolk Collection.
The portrait of Lord Dorset (opposite)
gives a fair overview of the extreme
sophistication of the clothes that men
wore in these troubled times in the
English history. We would like to
imagine that the complexity of the
ornaments and the finery the clothes
allowed them to ward off the cruelty of
the time.
In this extravagant costume of the Earl
of Dorset, an even more intense effort
seems to have been made for the
bottom of the costume, to be precise,
below the black velvet garters tied by
two huge pompoms of the same color!
We notice that the leaf patterns of the
white shoes with heels extend up the
white stockings until mid-calf; very
extravagant in our eyes, the lace shoe
buckles embroidered with silver or gold
thread, reproducing a flower pattern
(in this case a large carnation) were
however very characteristic and banal in
the English fashion of this beginning of
the 17th century. We also notice - if we
disregard the embroidered velvet cape,
the explosive lace collar, puffy breeches
with slashes and a braghetta whose
prominence is attenuated by the light of
the painting - a pair of leather gloves
very sober, one of which is threaded
through the Earl's right hand. This
dandy, who held the office of Lord
Lieutenant of Sussex, was known for his
numerous female conquests and,
already in his time, for the inheritance
and alimony trials of his various wives,
divorce having been made fashionable
by King Henry VIII.
As for the talented William Larkin who
produced this portrait, around forty
portraits have been authenticated as
undoubtedly from his hand. They are all
portraits of courtiers and gentlemen,
never of members of the royal family. A
series of 9 full-length portraits by Larkin
(including this one), formerly owned by
the Earls of Suffolk, are now known as
the Suffolk Collection and can be found
in Kenwood House, London. In 1969,
art historian Roy Strong identified
Larkin as the artist previously known as
the "Curtain Master"; his works were
recognised thanks to the fringed and
identically draped curtains that frame
the model, always reaching the ground.

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Louise Breslau (1856-1927)
Portrait of Gabriel Yturri, 1904,
Lambinet Museum, Versailles
The Argentinian Gabriel Yturri (1860-1905) had the reputation
of being one of the most elegant men of his time, in the service
himself of another legend of masculine elegance, Robert de
Montesquiou for whom he was both private secretary and
companion.
Gabriel Yturri settled in Paris and first served as secretary to
Baron Doasan who supplied Marcel Proust with part of the
model for his Baron Charlus in In Search of Lost Time, the
other part of the model being supplied by Robert de
Montesquiou himself!
In 1885, Gabriel Yturri met Robert de Montesquiou in Venice
and became his secretary and lover. When he died of diabetes
in 1905, his disappearance left Montesquiou deeply affected.
Three years after his death, he had a collection of poems and
correspondence published in his memory, under the title The
Chancellor of Flowers, Twelve Friendship Stations, a highly
confidential work only 100 copies of which were printed.
Montesquiou would readily say that Yturri was the only being
he had ever loved.
In this portrait with an undoubtedly Proustian atmosphere,
Yturri wears a wide-brimmed felt hat inspired by the straw
Panamas that were worn in South America. His shirt is topped
with a very high, removable false-collar to hide the folds of his
neck, like those worn by fashion designer Karl Largerfeld at the
end of the 20th century. The collar reveals a barely sketched tie
on which a tinted glass tie pin is planted. The position of his
fingers placed on the forehead, in a reflexive posture, makes it
possible to see a gold ring, symbolising his romantic
commitment to Robert de Montesquiou, at a time when
homosexual marriages did not exist.

MEN PORTRAITS
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FOOLISH ELEGANCE
Etienne Dinet (1861-1929)
Portrait ofe Nasr Eddine (selfportrait)
Nasr-eddine Dinet museum, Bou Saâda, Algeria
Etienne Dinet, whose self-portrait is shown here, was
a French orientalist and lithographer, who lived a
large part of his life in Algeria where he converted to
Islam after adopting the Muslim surname of Nasr-
Eddine.
Etienne Dinet undertook his first trip to the edge of
the Sahara Desert, in the region of Bou-Saâda, in
1884, in the company of a team of learned
entomologists. The trip marked him so deeply and
the shock of discovering the desert was so great that
he decided what the rest of his life would be. Literally
hypnotised by the beauty of Algeria, he learned
Arabic to better understand the cultures of southern
Algeria. In 1900, he set up his first workshop in
Biskra before buying a house 5 years later in Bou-
Saâda to spend three-quarters of the year there. In
France, where his talent was beginning to be
recognised, he was made an officer of the Legion of
Honor.In 1907, on his advice, the Villa Abd-el-Tif
was created in Algiers, on the model of the Villa
Medici in Rome.
In 1913, he informed all his friends of the choice of
his new Muslim surname: Nasr-Eddine. From the
mid-1880s his work was inspired by traditions, stories
and life in Bou-Saâda, considered then as the "door"
to the Sahara.
On this canvas, he wears the traditional white outfit of
the Berbers and the turban tied in a circle around the
head, covered by an imposing straw hat whose orange
fabric lining evokes the rays of the sun darting around
his skull. The tall chimney in the center of this
gigantic capeline, or wide brimmed hat, forms an
additional layer of protection against the scorching
desert air. During the day, the part of the garment
which is around the neck was pulled up over the
nose, flush with the eyes, offering in turn protection
against the sun, the sand and the sirocco, the burning
wind of the Sahara. The white colour of the garment,
the gandoura, was reputed to be the best guarantee
against storing heat.

MPS
MEN PORTRAITS SERIES
n°3
English text
That’s it…
For the moment …
Because with MPS
nothing ever ends…
Surprises from the blog
will soon enhance these
thematic series…
menportraits.blogspot.com
© Francis Rousseau 2011-2020
English Translation : Anne Menuhin