Featured Strange paiting

What do you think about this picture? Picture of the 19th century?
What is depicted here?
What does the shield in the groin area mean for a man?
Why do men have such strange clothes?

 

I bought the picture here, in Russia, for $ 50.

But I think she's from Europe. Perhaps the picture was taken out of Europe during the Second World War.

or maybe the picture came to Russia even before the revolution.

 

My guess is that it is a wedding portrait, and the costumes are regional. Another idle guess (probably wrong) is Macedonian or that region, and maybe from the 1920s. The painting quality does not seem very high to me and there are condition issues.

I think you might make a profit on $50, but not a lot.

 

Do you think that Macedonia? Did they have such costumes? And why exactly 1920 years))?

Well, the canvas looks like the paintings of the 19th century (although maybe I'm wrong)

In general, I communicated with one Bulgarian, he would say that this is Macedonia)). He knows their national costumes.

But he wrote that such suits are also unfamiliar. maybe Romania))?

 

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Macedonia seems like a pretty good guess. (Down to the mustache.) Belt could be military (and very possibly is as it serves as scabbard.) As the couple look representational rather than specific, the painting could have some allegorical significance e.g. the strength of our men protecting the purity of our women. Might have have been painted in a period of conflict.

Debora

 

Well, the face looks like something, but the suit does not look like?

He has tight pants (in the picture)?

hat some strange? Red jacket?
hmm.

Time of conflict, this is the last quarter of the 19th century?

 

From her gown and hair, think your painting is more likely early 20th century.

Debora

 

Hmmm, I hesitated on even replying but . . . could it possibly be a "codpiece"? It seems a bit "high" on the body for that but . . . with it being a "wedding" and all that a marriage ceremony portends . . . .

 

Women's dress? Was this dress only in the early 20th century?

I think I saw similar dresses in the 19th century))
I also saw haircuts similar in the 19th century.
Or maybe I'm wrong?

Well, in the last quarter of the 19th century, it seemed as if there were such hairstyles already))

 

Is it so very important to you that your painting be from the late 1800s?

Debora

 

Maybe)).

So, do you think it's definitely not until the of the 19th century?

And such hairstyles could not have been, for example, in the middle or early 19 th century?
Do you write about a woman's hair, or about a man's hair?

To be honest, I saw in some paintings of the 17th century quite ordinary hairstyles, which can be in modern times))

 

But about the dress I do not know. Such dresses appeared only in the late 19th century?

 

I once again asked my friend the Bulgarian about clothes.
He replied that you are mistaken.

clothes have nothing to do with Macedonia, he is sure of this one hundred percent. Precisely not Macedonia.

 

I think we must first determine whose costumes they are.

When this is determined, I think you can and accurately date the picture of these costumes))

 

The difficulty in dating your painting by the women's costume is it's symbolic. She's representing purity or true love or some such. Women in that era -- whether late 1800s or early 1900s -- did not wear their hair down in public. And the costume is not really of fashion. It appears to be a period interpretation of classical robes. As relatively unstructured and lacking much surface ornamentation (although there does appear to be detail on the bodice,) I would think Gibson Girl era which was late 1800s to early 1900s but could be a bit later.

Debora

 

women didn't carry open hair))?
I saw the Russian pictures which are precisely dated (for example the middle of the 19th century or even the 18th centuries) where women have been represented with open hair.

In Europe as was, I don't know))

But recently I saw a picture of 1862, there the woman is represented with open hair))

 

I also saw pictures of the late 18th century, where a woman was nude with her hair open (I do not remember exactly, but like the work of French artists)

 

Do you think, because of hair this picture isn't antiquarian?
So you think, this picture isn't antiquarian?

the canvas behind has dark color. Perhaps, it still depends on storage of a picture?
well just I saw pictures of the beginning of the 20th century, many of them look "more young" by sight. Not so dark canvas, in any case))