Field Trip to Museum of London

The Museum of London was amazing. I loved all of the exhibits but I wish I had a chance to see the ones that were closed. It was interesting to see what was here before the city of London was built and how it came to be. One painting that grabbed my attention is the one below.

It is a painting of a family group in around 1637. It represents the costume in London at the time and all that clothes represented. Costume meant a lot in society. Individuals could tell what social group a person belonged to by the clothes they wore. The fancier materials like silk, satin, fine linen, and Italian lace were expensive. Individuals also had to pay for the materials to make their clothes and the tayloring of it. Ribbons, lace, hats, and gloves were fashinable at this time.

When I saw this painting, I felt like I could relate it to so many concepts we learned in the first day of class. I feel like this one picture represents alot and could be interpreted as a text. Just as the information from the display gave, the clothes say a lot about the family. It is obvious that the man put a lot of effort into his wardrobe. He is wearing nice shoes and a fancy hat. Also, the baby is wrapped in an extremely beautiful embroidered cloth. These items show that the family has money and a high status in society. I also noticed that there is a power structure within the painting. The very first thing one's eyes move to is the standing man. He shows dominance because he is the only adult standing and he is towards the center of the picture. The two women are laying and sitting down which emphasizes the standing man. Another factor that shows male dominance is the fact that the woman is holding the baby. The painting also reveals sadness, maybe because the woman in the bed is ill. This is because the two children are holding hands and one is holding on to the man. In normal circumstances they would not be holding each other this way. Overall, I felt like I could see a lot within this painting. It grabbed my attention as soon as I saw it.