Cappuccio
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Below: Perspective study of a torus by Paolo Uccello, c. 1430-1440.[2]
The cappuccio, the Italian name for a chaperon, was a type of headgear worn by men and women in 15th-century Florence.[3] Cappucci were associated with republicans, as opposed to courtiers.[4] They were typically made by tailors instead of milliners, and were often made from the same fabric as overgowns.
A cappuccio was composed of three parts: the mazzocchio, the foggia, and the becchetto.[3] The mazzocchio was a cloth-covered, torus-shaped wicker or wire frame that encircled the wearer's head and was closed on top.[5][6] The foggia and becchetto were pieces of cloth hanging from the mazzocchio, and could be worn in various ways according to the personal tastes of the wearer. The foggia was the shorter strip of cloth, traditionally hanging to the shoulder and covering the wearer's left cheek. The becchetto was the longer strip of cloth and draped over the shoulder. It could also be wound around the wearer's head.[3]
To salute someone of higher rank, one pushed the cappuccio up slightly on one's forehead, without raising it from one's head.
By the early 16th century, cappucci were unfashionable, having been replaced by berretti and cappelli.[3]
[edit] The cappuccio in Renaissance art
In addition to being featured in many Renaissance portraits by virtue of being the fashion of the day, the cappuccio was of interest because the mazzocchio's shape made it a good subject for the developing art of perspective. The painter Paolo Uccello studied the perspective of the mazzocchio and incorporated it in some of his paintings (e.g. in The Counterattack of Michelotto da Cotignola at the Battle of San Romano).[7][2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Kren, Emil and Daniel Marx. "Portrait of a Young Man." Web Gallery of Art.
- ^ a b Emmer, Michele. "Art and Mathematics: The Platonic Solids." Leonardo 15(4): 277-282 (Autumn, 1982).
- ^ a b c d Frick, Carole Collier. Dressing Renaissance Florence: Families, Fortunes, and Fine Clothing. Johns Hopkins University Press (2002). pp. 304-305.
- ^ Hornqvist, Mikael. "Civic Humanism: Republican Dress."
- ^ Adams, Laurie. Key Monuments of the Italian Renaissance. Westview Press: 2000. p. 67.
- ^ Earls, Irene. Renaissance Art: A Topical Dictionary. Greenwood Press: 1987. p. 189.
- ^ "The Battle of San Romano". Louvre Museum. Retrieved on March 27, 2007.
