Theatre 255 History of Costume

Summer 2007-Euro Tour

Mary Wayne-Thomas

219 Scales Fine Arts Center

758-5086

wayne@wfu.edu

 
This course you will learn about historical costume by examining primary sources, painting, sculptures, photographs and actual garments.  We will visit museums, collections and a number of performances in countries throughout Europe.  You are required to read an introductory text before our departure and any additional readings relevant to our sites. 

 

Text: Laver, James. Costume and Fashion: A Concise History. Fourth Edition. Thames and Hudson

 

During the trip:

Each student will be expected to participate in group tours of museums and collections.  In addition, students should seek out additional resources to examine.  We will also attend performances in most cities.

 

Requirements for the class:

Before the trip:

Do assigned readings.  Familiarize yourself with various silhouettes of each period. A pre-departure assignment will be given.

 

During the trip:

            Group activities:  In each city we will go to a museum or collection as a group.

Journal entries:  Each student will create a journal of information and impressions of collections, exhibits, paintings and performances which you have seen on the trip. There should be at least one entry per city.  The journal entries will be collected and graded several times during the trip. A more detailed explanation of the performance response will be given to you on the trip.

 

Post trip:

           A research paper will be due Wednesday, August 1.  You may write about one aspect of costume, a specific period, a specific painter or painters and how they deal with clothing in their paintings, or other narrowly focused topic.   Your paper should be based on observations you have made on the trip supplemented with further research.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We will visit the following collections:

 

Musee Galleria-Musee de la mode de la Ville de Paris

Rijksmuseum-Amsterdam

Palazzo Mocenigo, Museo di Storia del Tessuto e Costume –Venice

Pitti Palace-Costume Gallery-Florence

Museum of Decorative Arts-Prague

Victoria and Albert Museum- London

Museum of Decorative Art- Berlin

 

Other suggested sites you may want to consider:

Gemeentemuseum-The Hague (short rain ride from Amsterdam)

Brede Verke- Lyngby (20 min from Copenhagen)

Pergamon Museum-Berlin

Theater Instituut Nederland-Amsterdam

Theatre Museum-London
Fashion and Textile museum-London