Best-dressed club - portraits of knights and masters of the Order of the Golden Fleece

Aloys II, Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein, by Friedrich von Amerling, 1845.

The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430. Today, two branches of the order exist: the Spanish, whose current grand master is King Felipe VI of Spain, head of the House of Bourbon-Anjou, and the Austrian, whose grand master is Karl von Habsburg, head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Of course, this post was not inspired by the frequently uninspiring visages of its members of centuries past, but rather because of their dashing attire, the extravagant vestments they often arrayed themselves in when posing for official portraits. For a full accounting of the order's long and illustrious history read the Wikipedia entry.

Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, attributed to Johann Gottfried Auerbach, circa 1720s.

Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, by Edmund Pölz, 1893.

 Diego Pignatelli d'Aragona Cortès, by Francesco Solimena, circa 1731-1732 or 1747.

Prince Eugen of Savoy, by Jacob van Schuppen, circa 1710-30.

Prince Joseph Wenzel I von Liechtenstein, by Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1740.

Emperor Francis I of Austria, by Joseph Kreutzinger, circa 1806.

Count Ferenc Széchényi, by Johann Nepomuk Ender, 1823.

Don Ferdinando Vincenzo Spinelli, Prince of Tarsia, by Francesco Solimena, circa 1738-41.

King Ferdinand VII of Spain, by Vicente López Portaña, circa 1808-11. (Preliminary sketch.)

Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, by Johann Gottfried Auerbach, circa 1730s.

Prince Klemens von Metternich, by Johann Nepomuk Ender, 1836.

Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine, attributed to Johann Philipp von der Schlichteng, circa 1700.

Emperor Francis I of Austria, by Johann Nepomuk Ender, 1836.

 Charles Alain de Rohan, prince de Guémené, by Alexander Clarot, 1841 (?).

Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, attributed to Anton von Maron, 1745.

Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, by Johann Gottfried Auerbach, circa 1730s.

Emperor Karl I of Austria, by Tom von Dreger, 1916.

King Carlos II of Spain, by Juan Carreño de Miranda, 1676.

Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz-Rietberg, by Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder, 1786. (Preliminary sketch.)

Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz-Rietberg, by Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder, 1786. (Finished work.)

Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, by Eduard Lebiedzki, 1891. (Six images.)

Go ahead, spill the wine! - red silk moiré dinner gown, American, circa 1837.

 

I agree with the Met's conclusion as to when and where this garment would have been worn: "During the nineteenth century, women's periodicals specified the types of dress appropriate for the variety of evening activities. In 1832, The Ladies' Cabinet alerted its readers, 'Moiré is coming much into favour for dinners of ceremony or evening parties.' The modest neckline, long sleeves, and subtle moiré textile suggest that this is a dinner or evening party dress."

Dressing for the academy - a selection of academic studies

 

Henri Bonnerot, circa 1910.

Attributed to Alexandre-Jean-Baptiste Hesse, circa 1830-50.

French School, nineteenth century.

French School, nineteenth century. (Undecipherable signature....)

Thomas Stothard, circa 1800.

Peder Severin Krøyer, 1877.

Bosser - "student of Bonnat," circa 1900.

 Unknown, circa mid-nineteenth century.

 Unknown, circa nineteenth-early twentieth century.

French School, nineteenth century.

Attributed to Jean-Léon Gérôme, nineteenth century.

Three studies for his sculpture L'Amour taillant son arc dans la massue d'Hercule, by Edmé Bouchardon, circa 1750.

French School, nineteenth century.

Pauline Auzou, 1793-94.

Constant Louis Antoine Lorichon, 1824.

Walerian Kryciński, 1877.

Jean-Jacques Bachelier, eighteenth century.

Vicke Andrén, circa late nineteenth century.

Halil Pasha, 1881.

Claude Chailly, 1782.

Paul-Joseph Barian, circa 1896.

Herbert Arnould Olivier, 1882.

Attributed to Gustave Courbet, circa early 1840s.

Joaquim Vitorino Ribeiro, 1879.

 Adolphe Valette, circa early twentieth century.

David Wood, circa 1910-12.

French School, nineteenth century.

Romer Kitching, circa 2015-18.

Cornelis Joseph d'Heur, circa mid-eighteenth century.

Pietro Aldi, circa 1875.

Edmé Bouchardon, 1755.

Kenyon Cox, circa 1874-76.

Kurt Kühn, 1902.

Carl Kjellin, 1881.

William Etty, circa 1830s.