Article source: 高林｜Youth Vienna (ID: YoungVienna)
The image of the king: from dress to uniform ?
Author: Lin Sang high
If we can determine the age of Louis XIV (the lower half of the 17th century) have been the monarch and nobles wearing military uniforms, then why do we still feel Was the dress of the king replaced by military uniforms in the 18th century?
In the impression of many people, male portraits of European royal families in the 18th century were basically dressed in gorgeous dresses, but in the 19th century they were mainly military uniforms. Where did this change in aesthetic style come from?
First of all, we have to consider what the court dress is?
If it is sauce-style, it will be out of date by the 18th century.
In 1745, during the coronation ceremony of King Franz I in Frankfurt as emperor, his wife Maria Theresa was amused by watching him wearing "Roman robe", and then the people around also Follow along and laugh. This shows that the Romanesque robe itself was somewhat outdated by 1745.
Then let's take a look at how military uniforms replace sauce-style clothing.
The movie shows the era of Louis XIV, from the second half of the 17th century to the beginning of the 18th century.
What is the difference between the clothes worn by the king and the military uniform? Let's look at the military uniforms of this period.
This is the king of Poland, the elector of Saxony, and August the supernatural king. He was obviously a military uniform because he was wearing armor. But if the king and soldiers don’t wear armor, what will their uniforms look like?
This is Louis XIV's interview with Da Kongdai.
Da Kongdai wore breastplates, and the soldiers on both sides also wore breastplates.
But the two people standing on the stairs holding swords and the four people behind them did not wear breastplates. They wore ordinary dresses like the king. Does this mean that this dress is actually a military uniform?
This is a court ceremony, I am afraid it is not enough to illustrate this point. Can we go and see on the battlefield?
This is the battlefield. We can see that the two people in the close shot are wearing breastplates, but one is not wearing a little further away. Can we find a way to get closer?
This time it is much closer, and we can see that most of the people in the picture this time are not wearing breastplates. And the military uniforms they wore were actually the kind of dresses worn by kings, but their colors were more uniform, and there were some more obvious military rank signs.
That is to say, in fact, from the second half of the 17th century to the 18th century, there is no essential difference between military uniforms and monarch and noble dresses? Let's look at some other pictures.
This is the Swedish King Gustav Adolf who died in the battle of Lüzen.
This is Gustav Adolf.
Let's take a look at the dress of contemporaries.
This is the dress of a soldier in the Louis XIII era. A comparison we can see that Gustav Adolf is not that gorgeous, but he must be wearing military uniforms.
What is the normal service?
This is the Zhengtai version of Louis XIII.
This is Henry III, who is inspecting the head of Duke Guise. Decades earlier than Louis XIII. We can see that in fact these monarchs and nobles have worn military uniforms in this era. The biggest difference between military uniforms and gowns is whether they wear armor.
Then if we can be sure that the monarchs and nobles in the Louis XIV era were already wearing military uniforms, then why do we still think that the monarchs were dressed in the 18th century?What replaced by military uniforms?
I think there are two reasons, the first is the simplicity of the military uniform. Because the modern monarchy expanded its standing army in batches, the military uniform itself was greatly simplified. Although nobles can customize military uniforms privately, they must also choose among the styles specified by the monarchy. Let's take a look at celebrities wearing this modernized military uniform.
Frederick II was not the first person in Prussia to wear military uniforms. His father Frederick William I was earlier, but his father wore the uniform of Louis XIV. And he is wearing an 18th century military uniform. The difference between this military uniform and the monarch's dress can be seen by comparing it with the contemporary Franz I.
The emperor Franz is obviously a regular suit in terms of standard, but it is undoubtedly too gorgeous.
This one is much simpler, but it is undoubtedly more gorgeous than the one Frederick wore. From this comparison, we can see that by the middle of the 18th century, Roman costumes were undoubtedly completely outdated. The ordinary uniforms of the monarchs and nobles were originally the same as the military uniforms, and they are all moving towards simplification. But the shrinking speed of military uniforms far exceeds that of normal uniforms. By the mid to late 18th century, military uniforms were far simpler than normal uniforms.
Let’s look at another example, this is Frederick’s Brainless Fan, Emperor Joseph II. He is also wearing a military uniform. Compared with his father's normal uniform, his military uniform is much simpler. Of course we can also say that he is the one in COS Frederick II.
We can also refer to Louis XV. As the king of the most powerful autocratic monarchy, the image of Louis XV is sauce-like:
By the end of the 18th century, the trend of simplification became more obvious. Napoleon actually imitated Frederick II in his personal image. He also wears an ordinary officer uniform. So we can think that around 1800, monarchs actually wore military uniforms to make themselves appear simple and close to the people.
But as the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars swept across Europe, new fashions also emerged. That is the taste of the middle class, or bourgeois culture.
The tuxedo began to rise, and the unpretentious black men's uniform began to rise. Compared with the familiar top hat + black dress, the original simple military uniform has become gorgeous.
Fashion leader Brumeier
So when a monarch or nobleman wants to pursue gorgeous dress, military uniform becomes the first choice. Tolstoy has a famous stalk I often quote, that is, once he saw a group of cavalry pass by and said, "Really handsome!" His friend asked him, why would you praise the czar's cavalry? Tolstoy replied, "Because it is handsome."
Military uniforms can satisfy people’s vanity on the one hand and fundamentally distinguish the image of monarchs and nobles from ordinary people. On the other hand, they can show people the monarch and The role of the nobility is that the monarch and nobility are natural soldiers, and they can also make people feel the power and majesty of the army commander.
So in the 19th century, monarchs and nobles, even the prime minister of the German Empire, were willing to wear military uniforms.
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