Contouche

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Watteau: Woman in Contouche (1720)
French robe (1740–1760)

The contouche (also Andrienne , Adrienne , Schlender , Robe battante , Robe volante , Robe innocente or Robe à la française ) was the predominant form of dress in the 18th century. Characteristic are the large folds of cotton wool falling down from the shoulders, named after the French painter Antoine Watteau , who was one of the first to paint them and who loved them.

The name Contouche , which is only commonly used in Germany, is derived from a Hungarian garment ( Kontusch ) with large back pleats.

development

The Contouche developed from the manteau of the late 17th century, in which the originally sewn-on back pleats were left loose. This wide women's robe was first brought into fashion in 1703 by the actress Manon Dancourt , through her title role of Andria (adapted from Michel Baron to Terenz ). The robe battante (also robe volante ) of the Régence (1715–1723) emerged as an intermediate form, which was worn more and more often outside the home and gradually became socially acceptable with increasing elegance.

The classic Contouche appeared around 1725-30 and was usually worn open at the front, but still resembled a wraparound robe. Up to around 1750 an increasingly clear waistline developed and the top was increasingly tight on the body. From 1740 one hardly sees any contouches closed at the front or folded over one another like kimono .

From the middle of the century onwards, the wadding folds became increasingly narrow and withdrew towards the middle of the back. The extreme form of this development is the robe à la piemontaise , in which the folds are attached from an extra piece of fabric, while the robe itself fits all around. In this form, the Contouche survived as a courtly and formal garment until the French Revolution , while everyday fashion had long since switched to other forms of dress, especially the robe à l'anglaise .

literature

  • Marianne Neumann: The fashion development in Régence and Rococo: A balancing act between tower hairstyle and hoop skirt , Diplomica Verlag , Hamburg 2014, pp. 26-27, ISBN 978-3-8428-9158-6

Web links

Commons : Watteau gowns  - collection of images, videos and audio files