Official maritime processions were common affairs in eighteenth and
nineteenth century Europe. Ornate ceremonial barges carried heads
of state, government officials, and members of nobility. The size
of the barge and the richness of decoration indicated the social rank
and status of its passengers.
For his official visit to the port of Brest, Napoleon III (1808–73)
was carried in a ceremonial barge originally built in 1810 for his
uncle, Napoleon I. The barge is now one of the prize possessions of
the Musée national de la Marine.
Figurehead from Marie Antoinette's
pleasure barge, 1777, artist not recorded. Painted wood, gold leaf.
This figurehead graced the front of the barge used by Marie Antoinette
(1755–93) on the Grand Canal in the gardens of the Versailles.
During the height of Versailles’ glory as the seat of power of
the French monarchy, a section of the gardens was known as “Little
Venice” and was filled with ornate boats and boathouses. After
years of neglect in revolutionary and republican France, Marie Antoinette’s
barge was discovered in deteriorated condition in the nineteenth century.
The vessel’s decay was so advanced that only the bow and stern
could be preserved.
Having designed French sailor-style
pants and cotton chemises for several of his women's ready-to-wear
collections, Ralph Lauren brightened his spring 2002 RLGirl line
with a similar maritime aesthetic. Photo courtesy Polo Ralph
Lauren. RL Girl Spring Mailer, 2002.
—American
expatriates in 1920s Paris and one of the Jazz Age’s golden
couples—captured the attention of café society by donning
the raiment of the French sailor, fashion designers have looked
to the mariner’s uniform for inspiration. Between the wars,
Coco Chanel and other French designers championed a similar garçonnier
(boyish) style. Elements borrowed from men’s fashion, such
as scale, shape, military detailing, and, of course, trousers, also
characterized the growing genre of American sportswear. Since then,
designers from Marcel Rochas in the 1940s to Ralph Lauren today
have reinterpreted the elegant sportiveness of French maritime fashion:
the cotton-knit shirt with bateau neckline and crisp stripes; the
wide-legged trousers or cropped pants in white; and even the quintessential
French accessory, the beret.
TOP: Manœuvres navales à Toulon (Naval maneuvers
in Toulon), 1777 (detail), Chevalier Flotte de Saint-Joseph. Oil
on canvas. 52 in. x 78 in.
Related Links
Royal Barges-A cross-cultural comparison
Large
site on Napoleon
The
Historical Flags of France (including naval flags)
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