![]() The ghoonghat, turban or wigs worn by Jewish women are other powerful examples – how can we use medieval portraiture to reflect on contemporary lives and faith? In turn as the lived experience of women comes to the forefront, then as now fashion is a vehicle to consider a very gendered world. Through sharing, we expand our understanding and engagement of the artwork and the meaning of the wimple. Instead we find a rich source of lived experience on headwear for religious expression that viewers can bring to the artwork. In doing so we are not suggesting the link to medieval history and contemporary faith in Britain is negative or reductive. Reading this artwork through contemporary expressions of gender identity and faith returns the humanism and emotion that is sometimes lost. Take a second look though – if you didn't know this was medieval European, could it be a hijab you are looking at?Ī veil covering of the hair and face has existed cross-culturally at least since ancient Greece, and across many faiths and religions. ![]() Once vivid in detail, we now see a face faded almost to abstraction by time. Melancholic in how it's weathered, the sitter still shows both head and neck covered in fabric. This partial sculpture of a woman wearing a wimple illustrates the power of arts education. It's fascinating to consider an artwork over 600 years old carries such relevance today in shining a light on our own society.įinding depictions of secular women in medieval sculpture are tantalising when we think about faith-based expression.īritish (English) School Eden District Council Fashion and piety merge here, a conversation still so politicised and personal in today's culture. The wimple is coded as a vehicle to read both the woman and Campin's skill visually, and the artist leads us there effortlessly. The characterisation of the veil aches with beauty and technicality – complemented by the youthful, wary and delicious detail lavished on the skin tone. The sitter simultaneously displays her wealth and status in the materials used, while the artist basks in the opportunity for virtuoso painting. Inside this, we have an authentic, lifelike and lovingly made depiction of a conventional medieval woman. Campin captures for us a very gendered expression of identity where fashion speaks as a narrative for the society in which he lived. ![]() At the time, Christian teaching on modesty, piety and expectations of married women dictated that heads be covered with little – if any – hair showing. An almost sensuous play of light and shadow is seen on the treatment of material – it hangs in both volume and tactile softness around the face. Here the sitter wears a crisp white pinned and layered wimple of fine cloth. This portrait of a woman by Robert Campin (1375/1379–1444) is the perfect example. Robert Campin (Master of Flémalle) (c.1375/1379–1444) The National Gallery, London
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