Handsome man exhibition. Exhibition "Handsome man

Not so long ago, an exhibition was opened at the Historical Museum, which is dedicated exclusively to men's fashion.

"Handsome man. Russian mod mid-eighteenth- the beginning of the 20th century" - this is the full name of the exposition. The department of the museum, which is in charge of clothing, again (following last year's "Russian folk costume”) reached the exhibition space and presented the people with embroidered camisoles of the 18th century, tailcoats and top hats of the Pushkin era and strict frock coats “ silver age". As well as all sorts of - and extremely diverse in fact - related accessories.

Actually, the curators identified three types of mods during this time. Well, let's start from the beginning - from the 18th century.

The portraits shown - there are many of them - are very different: both famous and unknown persons, both famous and unknown authors. We will not dwell on this - we will only be interested in the costume in the heroes of this painting.

"Petimeter" (French petit maître) - so ironically denoted at that time a secular dandy, unnecessarily following fashion. However, such is the shade of the French original. Indeed, the fashion of the time for men - not just for ladies - was also focused on external effects. Embroidery, lace, bright colors, jewelry - all this was present.

The satirical magazine “And this and that” (published in 1769) wrote about such mods like this: “ Petimeter means in Russian a heliporter, or a person who thinks of nothing else but dressing according to the rules of fashion ... In comedies, at balls, on Kamenny Island, in Kateringof, in summer garden and along the Palace Embankment you will see petimeter everywhere.»

« Whatever someone does and whatever fashion he throws out, nothing will hide from the eyes of Petimetre, he will take over everything and in a minute will have it with him, for he imitates everything indiscriminately.»

But consider a complete set of clothes of that time (habit complet). It included a caftan (outerwear), a camisole (worn under a caftan, a short sleeveless camisole was later called a vest) and culottes. That is short pants.

The "culottes" should remind us of the consonance of the "sans-culottes" - that is, the revolutionary-minded representatives of the "third estate" in Paris during French Revolution. Indeed, the common people, unlike secular fashionistas, did not wear culottes at that time, but wore long pants. But the nobles are precisely culottes, somehow long, which we now call breeches. And of course, stockings were required here.
The legs were thus exposed. And they needed special attention. To give harmony and volume to the calves, some characters - again I will refer to the Russian satirical press of that time - put "cotton paper" under the stockings.

Well, of course, the buckles of the shoes shone with might and main.
However, we managed to notice that such comfortable heels on the shoes are a very suitable thing for ice.

But back to head to toe. What they wore also mattered. And here I'm not talking about hats.

Yes, that's right - we're talking about wigs. There were many varieties of them, and this was also prescribed by fashion. The 1767 book L'art du perruquier (The Art of Barbers) shows eight basic types of wigs.

To prevent wigs from wrinkling, there were special cases for them.

And what kind of material it is, what fibers the wig is made of - it’s even hard to say.

Wigs were supposed to be powdered. Why they also had their own rules and techniques: the best powder, as noted by professionals, is made from wheat flour, lipstick for a wig (so that the powder sticks to it) is made from melted fat. To protect the face and clothes of the person being dressed, hairdressers put on him a “root” (cornet) - a sheet of cardboard folded in a special way.

And here are other toiletries - they also thought about the “beauty of the nails”.

Perfume bottles were also at that time by no means only women's belongings.

In general, the fees before going out into the light obviously had to take a lot of time.

Let's get back to clothes. Embroidery was a very common technique for decorating it - which was especially true for camisoles and vests (one of the fashionable young people of that time - and specifically the son of the famous hetman, Andrei Razumovsky - managed to spend about 20 thousand rubles on vests - which surprised his father a lot when he received account from the tailor).

Embroidery is also on silk wallets.

Moreover, the buttons could be decorated, for example, with landscapes or illustrations for literary works.

Watches (at that time only pocket watches), snuffboxes, lorgnettes, and spotting scopes turned out to be no less decorated.

We also note the fashion for miniatures - inside the same snuffbox there could well be a portrait of a lady of the heart.

And finally: manners also had to comply with the rules of etiquette:

« A bow is a sign of politeness and courtesy. (…) To give at the entrance to the chambers of the bow, it is necessary from the fourth position, bring from behind right leg to the fourth position ahead; then, bringing the left leg to the first position, tilt the body and stretching the knees and looking, before bending, with a pleasant view of the people to whom you bow…»

Are you confused yet? But all these movements must be made "in a pleasant and free manner." It is no coincidence that the cited quote is from the work "Dance Teacher". And the positions here are also dancing - that's the scheme.

Well, gentlemen, do you want to go to the 18th century? And how impressive would you look. :)

However, fashion will change after a while - “like a London dandy”

By the time of Pushkin, men's fashion had undergone radical changes - it was as if they had cut off the head of the former one along with Louis XVI. No more bright caftans, especially with embroidery and lace. No short culottes with stockings. Yes, and other accessories change.

The French Revolution and the era of the Napoleonic Wars that followed it relegated Paris from its leadership position. Now fashion for men was dictated by London - much less prone to external effects, but respecting solidity and respectability. This is one side of the matter. And the other is the eternal sportiness of the British (in the understanding of that time we are talking about active leisure), which demanded first of all convenience from clothes. The combination of these factors, coupled with the ever-increasing advancement of the "third estate" to the social top, gives us an image that at first glance is simple and strict.

Yes, and portraits of that time testify to the disappearance of another important accessory half a century ago - namely a wig (even if there is not much left of your own hair). At the same time, the fashion for men's hairstyles periodically changes - which portraits of that time also allow us to trace.

Above - the hairstyle "à la Titus": this was worn, in particular, by Vasily Lvovich Pushkin (and she required, by the way, special styling). But at times, the hair, on the contrary, was slightly lengthened.

Tips on accessories also do not seem to allow you to roam. And the main adviser in the second half of the 1820s was still a French book - "Code de la toilette" (the author of which bears the spectacular name of Honore-Napoleon Rasson).

“A well-shaven man has higher thoughts than an unshaven one” - this phrase, referring to Stern, the author of the work on “elegance and hygiene” puts on the cover of his creation (noting already in the text itself: “ most men groom their chin every morning; some dandies shave twice a day"). Well, the curators of the exhibition do not forget to put razors in the exposition - these are the ones that were used at the beginning of the 19th century.

Well, it was not in vain that the one already mentioned many times already wrote - but where can you go? - Alexander Pushkin: "You can be a smart person and think about the beauty of your nails." All kinds of accessories, bottles, manicure sets - all this is present on the men's dressing table.

In passing, I will note a funny little thing: this vial is connected to a spotting scope. I wonder where they took it with them and what they poured?

Here is another piece of advice from Monsieur Rasson: Watches should not be equated with jewelry. The abundance of chains, seals, speaks of bad taste. The watch is worn in the left pocket of the vest. Their thickness should not exceed the thickness of two five-franc coins. Only women can use watches in cases covered with enamel…»

And indeed, compared with the clocks of the XVIII century, chronometers 19th century outwardly much more simple.

Which doesn't mean cheap. According to one of the memoirists of the time, it was fitting to have a watch of the glorious Parisian master Breguet, and these watches were not cheap: the simplest grade cost at least 300 francs, and the price of rich watches reached 3,000 rubles of that time.»

Let's go back to Code de la toilette. About jewelry, the author says: Young people are allowed to wear only one wide ring of English gold.(this, by the way, is not gold, but an alloy of copper and zinc, now more commonly referred to as “tompac”), and for men of respectable age only one ring with a solitaire».

Visual instruments are also changing: The theatrical lorgnette does not allow any other decoration than its quality, (...) and it is precisely the thinness of the glass that constitutes their dignity.».

True, spotting scopes, although without jewelry, are still elegant (and sometimes they are also combined with watches).

The snuffbox also becomes stricter (here - the eglomise technique, fashionable at that time, painting under glass).

The shoe buckles (remember the image from the first part of the post for comparison) are also less pretentious.

But the wallet can be bright (most often it is now embroidered with beads). But here, as it were, it is assumed that this is most likely a gift personally embroidered by a lady.

Embroidery, however, can show up where it is not actually visible - for example, on suspenders.

What can still revive the costume a little? It's easy to guess - it's a vest. Although already a little similar to the previous "camisoles", but still.

But that's all while we're talking about the "particular" dress. WITH military uniform everything is different - they didn’t know “camouflage” then, they dressed the soldiers brightly in order to distinguish their own and others on the battlefield. Plus, the insignia - here already according to Griboedov's Skalozub: "in uniforms, edging, shoulder straps, buttonholes."

But for real, both the military and civilians could hang out at home. Bathrobe - that's where there will be no restrictions on color and finish.

You can decorate pipes and other accessories for home leisure in any way you like.

And also the whole economy of the hunter.

In a word, men's clothing style is paradoxically divided into discreet - public, and brighter - at home.

But this public style turn XIX-XX centuries will change again. About what - next time.

Sometimes it seems that Russian men and fashion are something like intersecting straight lines that run in different universes and never intersect. The falsity of this stereotype is confirmed by the wonderful “Handsome man. Russian fashionista of the middle of the 18th - beginning of the 20th century", which takes place at the Historical Museum in Moscow from March 15 to July 28, 2017.

The exhibition presents more than 600 items from the funds of the State historical museum, State Museum of A.S. Pushkin, State Historical Library, Russian state library, as well as the Alexander Vasiliev Foundation (Vilnius). Among the exhibits are examples of men's dress and underwear, jewelry and fashion accessories, hats, shoes, buttons, wallets, snuffboxes and pipes, grooming products; paintings, prints, photographs, cartoons, magazines and books. Many of the items are shown to the public for the first time.

The exhibition consists of three sections, each dedicated to a certain "peak" male fashion:
"Courtliness", middle - second half of the XVIII century,
"Dendism: Russian images", the first three decades of the XIX century,
Decadence, early 20th century.

A separate part of the exposition is devoted to the work of young designers from the British high school design (courses "Jewellery Design" and "Fashion Design").

Courtesy, middle - second half of the 18th century, the main fashionistas are "petimeters", aristocrats, fans of French fashion.

Caftan, Europe, 1770, and court sword, Russia, first half of the 18th century.

Wig, Europe, 18th century

Caftan and sword

Camisole, France, last quarter of the 18th century, Culottes, Europe, late 18th century.

Waistcoat, France, around 1780, silk, linen, embroidery

Rings, tie pins

Pocket watch, England, circa 1830, Haley & Son

Pocket watch, England, 1740, watchmaker W.Grant

Glasses with double glasses, France, mid-18th century

Chatelain: with miniatures, Europe, 1740s; France, 1760s.

Chatelain

Unknown artist. Portrait of Baron I.A. Cherkasov, mid-18th century

Toiletries

“Petimetr goes to bed in the morning, and wakes up in the evening, sits in front of a mirror for several hours, and whitens, blushes and sticks flies, does not leave the house until he is sprayed with perfume so that the fragrance coming from them is palpably on those streets through which he will pass. "Satiric Herald", 1790.

Pistol shaped bottle. Western Europe, late 18th century

Snuffboxes, France, England 18th century

“The red tape, having acquired the favor of the adored subject, agrees on a way to communicate their mutual feelings to each other. From now on, when the red tape and his beloved come together, they regale each other with tobacco and sniff it from each other. During this sniffing, the red tape, skillfully hiding a pre-prepared note between his fingers, puts it deftly in the tobacco of his beauty, otherwise, if he finds some inconvenience in it, he brings his snuffbox to the beautiful woman and treats her with tobacco, placing her folded note in the middle, which, feeling with her fingers, she takes out and carefully hides in a handkerchief or in her pocket. "A funny correspondence between fashion and fickleness and current outfits with vintage ones"

Snuffboxes, mid 18th century

"Dandism", the first three decades of the 19th century, Russian dandies are nobles, restrained by a fairly strict regulation of the costume.

Tailcoat, Europe, c. 1815, wool, silk. Round hat, USA, first half of the 19th century "Peek & Co", felt

Walking stick in the shape of a dog's head, Western Europe, first half of the 19th century, zebrano, amber.

Waistcoats: France, 1820s, silk, glass buttons, USA, 1810s, printed cotton. Handkerchief, Russia, ser. 19th century, cambric, embroidery

Waistcoat France, 1820s, silk, glass buttons

Tail coat, Europe, c. 1830, wool, silk, Round hat, 1820 "Henry Heath Ltd", velor, leather, moire, cloth

Folding razors, horn handles, France, England

vials

Care products

“Without any doubt, the hour dedicated to the dressing table is the quietest and flows faster. That time is full of little pleasures, in which they do not realize. Who does not feel sincere pleasure in taking care of themselves. Having a valet is a big mistake: he deprives you of a thousand pleasures. "Rules of secular treatment of courtesy", 1829

A set of seals for the days of the week. Russia, Tula, first half of the 19th century, steel

Caricature of the fashion of the early 19th century. Germany, 1803

Yermolka, Russia, 1920-1830s, beads, silk, knitting

Smoking pipe, left: France, gems, right, first half of the 19th century: Russia or Germany, beads, 1830-1840s

Tail coat, Europe, around 1850, wool, silk

Waistcoat, France, 1830s, silk

Decadence, the beginning of the 20th century, sophisticated "coquettes", ardent athletes

Decorative shatelins, Russia, 1893

Set of cufflinks, Europe, 1900-1910

Cufflinks, late XIX - early XX centuries.

tailcoat and top hat

“There are three cases when a top hat is obligatory for a social person, namely: 1) visits made in a cut-away (in a jacket), 2) riding in a black jacket, 3) a funeral, a garden party, a walk and official meetings. Wearing a top hat with a business suit is as incongruous as riding with a lady in a soft cap, or a bowler hat with a formal suit. Gentleman. Desk book of a graceful man, 1913

Galina Tsvetaeva reviews: 251 ratings: 253 rating: 322

Almost all museums are closed on Mondays. And I have two hours of free time. I was in the center, I remembered the exhibition hall of the Historical Museum, it turned out to be closed without any announcements. Turning around, I saw a poster on the Museum "War of 1812" of the exhibition "Handsome Man", I decided to visit this exhibition. Too bad there was no tour. But, it was interesting enough. The exposition is divided into three parts: petimeters, dandy, decadence. Lots of explanatory information. All the exhibits are well lit and you can approach and examine them carefully. First department: petimeters. Not only are items of clothing from the fund of Alexander Vasiliev (Vilnius) presented, but it is clearly shown in the portraits how men of the age of petimeter looked like. Surprisingly, the men were not very large, judging by the suits. And they had different decorations - the sea. One can only wonder at the quantity. The next section is dandy. I immediately remembered Pushkin: "How a London dendy is dressed - and, finally, he saw the light." Immediately imagine social life, balls, clubs, receptions - celebrating life young rake. How many different bottles, devices, cane knobs with secrets, in which knives, nail files, and so on were kept. Then decadence with its sophistication, sophistication. What a beautiful preservation of top hats, hats, underwear. It's hard to imagine how it survived. Gorgeous things for golf, sports were fashionable.
I really liked the things of the British School of Design. What talented designers we have. The things created by them are incomparable, they combine outrageousness and practicality. They can and should be worn, introduced into mass production. Bright colors decorate life, improve mood. It's great that at least a few wear this.
The exhibition is interesting for everyone who is not indifferent to fashion, its development, who wants to take a fresh look at old things and find something for themselves in new things.
Two hours flew by unnoticed, because it was interesting. Thanks to the organizers for the fascinating presentation of the material and my admiration for the designers of the British School of Design.

Nadezhda Nikolaeva reviews: 21 ratings: 21 rating: 4

We visited the exhibition at the State Historical Museum - "Handsome man. Russian fashionista of the middle of the XVIII - early XX century." This is the first major project in Russia, entirely dedicated to the history of men's fashion. The exhibition features more than 600 items. Among the exhibits are examples of men's dress and underwear, there are modern suits, jewelry and fashion accessories, beauty products, paintings, prints, photographs, cartoons, magazines and books. All men's dresses are made from natural fabrics: cloth, wool, brocade, silk, satin. The costumes are chic! And the shoe buckles are a masterpiece! And snuffboxes, and embroidered vests, caftans, camisoles, purses and wallets - all this is a real work of art. What were craftswomen and masters! This is how our Russian fashionistas dressed! In the novel "Eugene Onegin" Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin writes about the newest Russians: "... Dashing fashion, our tyrant, the disease of the newest Russians!" Just think two hundred years ago, there were the newest Russians, with an invincible predilection for fashion. Fashion extends not only to clothes and shoes. Everything external is fashion, these are fashionable writers, artists, poets, etc. To fall behind fashion means for many to fall behind life. So it was in the time of Pushkin, so it is in our times.
There are a lot of interesting things to consider, I recommend and better with a guide, a different perception, the exhibits come to life.

Maya Sugakova reviews: 27 ratings: 27 rating: 15

Passion analysis.
"Fandorin dressed as an inconspicuous Englishman: black bowler hat, black jacket, black trousers, black tie. In Moscow, he would probably be mistaken for an undertaker, but in London, he must be considered invisible." Boris Akunin "Azazel"
On Red Square in the Historical Museum there is an exhibition "Handsome man Russian dandy in the middle of the 18th and early 20th centuries." The exhibition is NOT stuffed with antiques and weapons, it is concise and slightly cold, in three huge rooms exhibition hall quick illumination, as it is said famous writer that "a noble husband remembers: dignity is not in what happens to you, but in how you behave!" . There are three rooms at the exhibition where insignia of clothing and accessories are collected, when something French was fashionable, and then something English, and then fashion united with all foreign habits and became different. It's great that at the exhibition I did not find inscriptions of "hackneyed" phrases that everything should be fine in a person, about the fact that beauty will save the world and other standard well-known phrases. In the inscriptions above ancient objects, one can read other interesting passages and quotations from the primary sources of that time. I learned for myself a new, but already outdated for us, the word “five meters”, which means young secular dandies, dandies who imitate everything French. “Here was a favorite place of Moscow dandies - five meters, as the then satirical literature". E. Radzinsky, "Princess Tarakanova". Officer's uniform, jewelry, the ability to tie a tie in several ways, look at a lorgnette in time, properly powder a wig, put on a hat, including a straw hat, which should be EXCLUSIVELY with a black ribbon, sniff tobacco in a mannered manner, taking out an elegant snuffbox, sneezing at the caricatures of those times that ridiculed fashion and fashionistas, being able to dance the tango and being an athlete - all these are signs of a time of decadence, dandyism and courtesy. Several items seemed extremely bulky to me, and some behind the glass seemed slightly fragile and frail, such were the dimensions of the handsome men of that time. The connection between five meters and modernity is a few exhibits of the British School, and they are so good in everything that one marvels at the talents of the Russian land in a foreign land. After the exhibition, near the exit, there is a book of reviews in which guests write down their impressions, please take the time to look through it, believe me, it is no less interesting in its details than the exhibition, which will last until the end of July.

A major exhibition project of the St. Petersburg Museum of Theater and musical art"Handsome man. Russian fashionista at the theater" is dedicated to the phenomenon of male panache in Russia, the famous fashionistas of Russian literature and theater, the images of dandies and dandies at the theater stage late XVIII- the beginning of the XX century. This project inherited the theme, title and some of the exhibits from the exhibition of the State Historical Museum, which was brilliantly held in Moscow in 2017. However, the new curatorial concept dictates significant differences in the subject range of the exposition: The Museum of Theater and Musical Art explores not so much men's everyday fashion as its reflection on the stage, its influence on theatrical language different eras from caricatures of ladies' men of fashion to the emergence and development of the role of the hero-lover.
The trends of any time are especially clearly and clearly manifested on the theatrical stage: literary tastes and manner of expression, topical events and fashion trends take on a catchy form in the theater, are shown enlarged, as if under a magnifying glass. Theatrical "extractions" of men's fashion different styles and epochs make it possible to discover with all clarity how during the late XVIII - early XX centuries, public ideas about perfect man- a handsome man, a war hero or a lover hero. This task is the focus of the exhibition of the Museum of Theater and Musical Art “Handsome Man. Russian fashionista at the theatre. The Petersburg project, without repeating the exposition of the State Historical Museum, writes a new chapter fascinating history, is a kind of sequel to the Moscow blockbuster exhibition.
In the St. Petersburg series of the “Handsome Man” project, three storylines. One of them is connected with the history of things, household trifles in the era of Fonvizin, Pushkin, Ostrovsky or Chekhov. Along with caftans, camisoles, dress coats and other elements of the men's wardrobe, special attention will be given to canes and powder flasks, seals and buckles, earmuffs and men's corsets, devices for cleaning nails and ears, powder boxes, mussels and ballroom notebooks - gizmos that are so necessary for every fashionista, which now look outlandish exotic. A variety of smoking accessories, glasses and lorgnettes, pocket watches of the 18th-20th centuries are devoted to separate cameo episodes.
The memorial plot of the exhibition is a natural continuation of the "history of men's trifles". Portrait of P. Ya. Chaadaev, A. S. Pushkin’s vest, M. I. Glinka’s fez, A. N. Ostrovsky’s cane, A. K. Glazunov’s pince-nez, V. V. Samoilov’s ring or F. I. Chaliapin’s snuffbox are played by the presenters roles in the exhibition-performance, become the tellers of whole stories about their famous owners and their attitude to fashion.
Things famous actors- a subject of special curatorial interest. Up to late XIX century, artists often went on stage in their own clothes, their fashionable accessories became elements of the theatrical image - whether sublime, tragic or comedy-caricature. Personal belongings of V. V. Samoilov, K. A. Varlamov, N. N. Figner, F. I. Stravinsky, F. I. Chaliapin are adjacent to their stage costumes, portraits and photographs that create reference images of a "handsome man". The theatrical plot of the exhibition would not be complete without literary heroes: from Onegin and Chatsky to Antropka from the Fashion Store by I. A. Krylov. Their incarnations on the stages of St. Petersburg theaters throughout the whole century have been carefully studied and reflected in the exposition.
The prologue to the historical part of the exposition will be the theatrical “black cabinet” with a gallery of portraits of modern “handsome men”. Photos of famous actors and directors XX - early XXI centuries, trendsetters and idols of the general public - from G. A. Tovstonogov, V. I. Strzhelchik, I. O. Gorbachev to F. S. Ruzimatov and D. V. Kozlovsky - will be placed in a row, as in the foyer of a real theater . The photographs taken by the brilliant masters Valery Plotnikov, Valentin Baranovsky, Yuri Belinsky and other photographers will give a point of support to the viewer who sets off on a journey through the styles and eras of men's fashion, as if hinting: "Everything flows, but nothing changes."
In the project “Handsome man. Russian fashionista at the theater” is attended by the State Museum Reserve “Peterhof”, the State Museum of A. S. Pushkin (Moscow), All-Russian Museum A. S. Pushkin (St. Petersburg), State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Theater Library, Russian National Library Alexandrinsky Theater, Museum of the Bolshoi drama theater, theater museum. Lensoviet, Museum of the theater-festival "Baltic House", magazines "Sobaka.ru" and "Caravan of stories". Saint Petersburg state museum Theatrical and musical art will present at the exhibition rare costumes from the wardrobe of the imperial theaters, sketches of scenery and costumes, posters, theater programs and photographs of different times, items of jewelry kept in the funds. Many exhibits of the exhibition will be shown to the public for the first time.

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