De la vanidad y de la ostentación. Imagen y representación del vestido masculino y el cambio social en España, siglos XVII-XIX

Abstract

This study delves into the cultural questions that define a group estamental that, as the ideology and the mentality, guided his aesthetic taste. Therefore, one of the most important theme of this investigation resides in the aesthetic importance of the garment reflected in the Madrid society to departing, especially, during the second half of the XVIIth Century. Especialliy, this thesis is about the relations costume and the social actors during the XVIIth, XVIIIth and XIXth Century. Also about the artistic and aesthetic influences of the moderns habits and the social change. So, the principal worry of this study is the masculine appearance as symbol of the social change, choosing as privileged balcony the Villa and Court of Madrid. The focus of this thesis is the Justaucorps dress as object and subject of study and analysis for a critical approach. So, it has needed exhaustive work evidences where the documents of the Archivo Histórico Provincial in Madrid are the core of this study. Perfect complement of these blocks is the bibliographical and artistic one, to study the degree of acceptance and resistance of the French taste. Based on the reflection of D. Roche that the studies about clothing are less anecdotal than might appear, we demonstrate the relational importance between the costume and its social and cultural settings, considering the dress is part of the Art History, as well as Social and Cultural History. So the dress is legitimized as a feature of the ideology, mentality, practices and behaviors. This is because the garment has always shown the formal values of the modern distinction through their styles and fashions, as did the Justaucorps dress that seduced both foreigners and Spanish people. Above all, this dress is particularly significant for the social phenomenon of male appearances. During this period, a small group of men - and fewer women - possessed the control on the political and cultural resources. So, based on the dress worn by the man in the late sixteenth Century model, we analyze the Spanish decadence and the gradual filtration of the Justaucorps dress that turn into the court model also in Spain. The introduction of these new appearances -phenomenon caused by the change of dynasty at the beginning of XVIIIth Century- manifested as a social indicator of the new image of the town of Madrid. This model, proceeding from the military uniform, was visible in the elites and managed to define the symbolic capital of these groups of power. The dress, manifestation of luxury and protocol court, was imposed as an aristocratic ceremonial modern adjective. Both on the court and in the city, this new aesthetic costume represented the visual image of the modern era and specifically of the Ancient Regime. The monitoring of this dress, from its beginnings until the fossilization and the overcoming at the XIXth Century, can sequence the evolution of the characteristics and the transformations that defined culturally the stylistic taste of the new social class. To witness the historical changes, this dress describes the social progress of certain individuals and their transition -not only aesthetically- to a liberal society. In fact, this costume character evidence and the social connotations of this slow evolution. Key Words: Spain, social change, Modern Age, Justaucorps, dress