Most of my images found of the Ballet of the French Court in the 17th century were drawings of costumes by the court designer, Daniel Rabel. He designed the costumes for The Court Ballet of Louis XIII between 1615 and 1633. King Louis XIV of France originally brought ballet to court. Extravagant forms of entertainments, like ballet, was used to celebrate marriages or show off wealth and power of the ruler. The performances at court kept everyone amused, it was a social accomplishment, it also impressed foreign visitors. The performances were lavish and some of the story lines were inspired by myths of ancient Greece. The costumes depict creatures, ordinary people, noble people, tradesmen, nymphs, etc. The characters are exaggerated and distorted, making some have an ugly disposition. The costumes were decorated with symbols and details to help the audiences recognize the individual characters. For example scissors represented a tailor. Since some of the costumes were so large; movement was limited.The images also suggest that women’s parts were danced by men, the king himself liked to dress up himself.
(photos on PDF)
