![]() First impressions may not be correct, or even fair, but they often are the factor determining success or failure, credibility or lack of it. And whether or not the book ever gets read may well depend on how inviting the cover is.Īnd so it goes with people. The fact is, however, people do form opinions based on what they initially see. While dress codes differ according to climate and/or local custom, whatever clothing is chosen should always be appropriate and worn with the dignity due the honored position of being a woman.ĭO NOT judge a book by its cover-a familiar statement warning against the perils of passing judgment based on mere outward appearance. The following article offers some suggestions that will perhaps appeal more to the women in Western countries, whereas the principles given for modest dress touch women from the remotest villages of Africa and the towns of Chile all the way to the large cities of the developed nations. In other parts of the globe, clothing is more abundant, but then so are the styles to choose from, causing confusion for many and possibly a materialistic approach. ![]() However, in some parts of the world, just having sufficient clothing is a major concern for women-regardless of what it looks like. Some of the customs and ways this is accomplished are as different as the people themselves and come in such a delightful array of colors and styles to behold-the feminine kimonos of Japan, the beautiful saris of India, the splashes of color in African dress, the bright Indian blankets and the interesting bowler hats of Bolivia, to name just a few. Women the world over have long sought to present a pleasing appearance through clothing. Many of these alterations have since been reversed, damaging some of the statues.Fig Leaves, Fashions and Figures-From a Woman’s Wardrobe The Adam and Eve panels on the Ghent Altarpiece, already equipped with fig leaves by Jan van Eyck, were simply replaced with 19th-century panels copying the figures but clothed. "The fig leaves of decent reticence" which Charles Kingsley described were applied not only to statuary but to literature as well. The age of the rising middle class in Victorian England was, or course, the age of the fig leaf. For free-standing statues this did not work well, and carved or cast fig leaves were sometimes added, such as with the plaster copy of Michelangelo's David displayed in Victorian era London. This has been dubbed the "fig leaf campaign". Often, as in the famous case of Michelangelo's The Last Judgement, drapery or extra branches from any nearby bush was used. This was especially a feature of Northern Renaissance art.įrom about 1530, the developing reaction to Renaissance freedoms and excesses that led to the Council of Trent also led to a number of artworks, especially in churches or public places, being altered to reduce the amount of nudity on display. ![]() Adam and Eve were often shown wearing fig or other leaves, following the Biblical description. During the Middle Ages, only the unfortunate (most often the damned) were usually shown naked, although the depictions were then often rather explicit. This tradition continued in Ancient Roman art until the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity, when heroic nudity vanished. In Ancient Greek art, male nakedness, including the genitals, was common, although the female vulval area was generally covered in art for public display. Some paintings and statues have the genitals of their subjects covered by a representation of an actual fig leaf or similar object, either as part of the work or added afterward for perceived modesty. The expression " fig leaf" is widely used figuratively to convey the covering up of an act or an object that is embarrassing or distasteful with something of innocuous appearance, a metaphorical reference to the Biblical Book of Genesis in which Adam and Eve used fig leaves to cover their nudity after eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The fig leaf was placed there under the more " chaste" Popes later, most such coverings were removed. A statue of Mercury holding the caduceus in the Vatican, with a fig leaf placed over the genitalia.
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