Style Imitating Art Fashion Challenge – “Going to Market” by Constant Troyon

I’m back again taking the Style Imitating Art Fashion Challenge My previous attempts were well received and the consensus was that I nailed the brief. Which was very encouraging as I usually second guess myself. Here is the link to my last post if you missed it – Style Imitating Art Fashion Challenge

What is the Style Imitating Art Fashion Challenge?

Style Imitating Art is a great idea to get creative and learn about fashion and art. It’s about pairing fashion with art. Earlier this year, Marsha joined Shelbee and Salazar as curators for SIA. They begin with a piece of art, create looks based upon that art, and share them on our blogs. Think of it as fashion meets art museum! Anyone and everyone is welcome and encouraged to join in on the fun. You don’t have to be a blogger to participate, either! Marsha is the curator for this round of SIA. I hope you’ll find some inspiration in this painting.

Marsha chose this artwork because

“I chose this piece of art because I wanted a black and white image.  I wanted to free everyone from a color scheme so they could use their own ideas or go with the black/white/grey of the image.  The artist is Constant Troyon.”

Marsha

SIA Fashion Challenge – ‘Going to Market’ – Constant Troyan

As mentioned, this week’s SIA selection was from curator Marsha (Marsha In the Middle) who has chosen ‘Going to Market’ by Constant Troyon. I love the muted tones in this painting. No colour just shades of black, white and grey. To me there is still some life despite the lack of colour. You can see the dog playfully jumping in front of the donkey. The Donkey and Sheep are slowly walking and the rider looks pensive and sad. The painting is moody and I can imagine the young girl leaving home in the early morning mists to head to market.

Who was Constant Troyon?

Constant Troyon (August 28, 1810 – February 21, 1865) was a French painter of the Barbizon school. In the early part of his career he painted mostly landscapes. It was only comparatively late in life that Troyon found his métier as a painter of animals, and achieved international recognition.

He was born in Sèvres, near Paris, where his father was connected with the famous manufactory of porcelain. By the time he reached twenty-one he was travelling the country as an artist, and painting landscapes so long as his finances lasted. Then when pressed for money he made friends with the first china manufacturer he met and worked steadily at his old business of decorator until he had accumulated enough funds to permit him to start again on his wanderings.

Troyon was a favorite with Camille Roqueplan, an artist of distinction eight years his senior, and he became one of his pupils after receiving certain tuition from a painter, now quite unknown, named Alfred Riocreux. Roqueplan introduced Troyon to Rousseau, Jules Dupré, and the other Barbizon painters, and in his pictures between 1840 and 1847 he seemed to endeavour to follow in their footsteps. But as a landscapist Troyon would never have been recognized as a thorough master, although his work of the period is marked with much sincerity and met with a certain success.

In 1846 Troyon went to the Netherlands, and at the Hague saw Paulus Potter’s famous “Young Bull”. From the studies he made of this picture, of Cuyp’s sunny landscapes, and Rembrandt‘s noble masterpieces he soon evolved a new method of painting, and it is only in works produced after this time that Troyon’s true individuality is revealed. He found success as his works were recognized as masterpieces in Britain and America, as well as in all countries of the Continent.

Success, however, came too late, for Troyon never quite believed in it himself, He was decorated with the Legion of Honour, and five times received medals at the Paris Salon, while Napoleon III was one of his patrons; and it is certain he was at least as financially successful as his Barbizon colleagues.

Troyon died, unmarried, at Paris on 21 February 1865, after a term of clouded intellect. He was buried in the Cimetière de Montmartre in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constant_Troyon 

What was the inspiration for ‘Going to Market’?

“Going to Market” by Constant Troyon was one of several reduced variants of his larger work, “Departure for the Market (Le Départ pour le Marché),” which was exhibited in the Salon of 1859. The painting captures the scene of people heading to the market, evoking a sense of movement and rural life.

My Style Imitating Art

For my third attempt at the SIA challenge, I really had to think about. Nothing from my wardrobe immediately sprang to mind so I spent a few days mulling over how I would approach the challenge. I had decided on a black and white outfit and would try to recreate the moodiness of the painting with some photo editing. Don’t you love it when you find an item of clothing you had forgotten about? Searching my wardrobe, I discovered this jacket which I haven’t worn very often but was perfect from a tonal point of view to capture this challenge. You can see from the close up it matches the colours in the painting perfectly.

I left my outfit very plain to match the sombre mood of the painting with no added ‘bling’ accessories except for my silver necklace which I thought would depict the liveliness of the dog.

The top row are in colour so you can see the jacket has the hues of the painting. I think edited the bottom two photos to make them monochrome. I actually love the look rather than in colour.

So here is my take…..do you think I interpreted the prompt correctly?

What would you select for the Style Imitating Art – Going to Market challenge? I’d love to see your photos or comments.

Please take a moment to pop over to see how the hosts have interpreted the prompt.

If you would like to take a peek at the Fella Hamilton website please feel free to use my code: SUE10 for a discount.

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