E. Cucuel: Bilder aus der Grossstadt. New-Yorker Strassen-Typen.

Title

E. Cucuel: Bilder aus der Grossstadt. New-Yorker Strassen-Typen.

The illustration shows an elegantly dressed New York couple in black, white, and red. From an original drawing by Cucuel, 1899.

ca. 1907

Artist

Cucuel (1875-1954)

English translation: Eduard Alfred Cucuel (born 1875 – died 1954), American painter and illustrator, studied in San Francisco and Paris, pupil of Jean-Léon Gérôme. Study trips brought Cucuel in 1904 to Spain, Algeria, Ceylon, Japan, and China. Later he worked in Berlin as an illustrator and in Munich (1907).

Historical Description

In the second half of the 19th century, the overall fashion effort decreased. In the period since the founding years after the Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871, however, a rapid and arbitrary change began. Wide and tight, long and short skirts, high and low hairstyles, big and small hats came and went. Throughout the time, men's fashion did not follow the variety of women's fashion, either in terms of shape or color. Rather, in this period of economic and social change, it had a pronounced pull towards simplicity. Clothing should not be an obstacle to work and movement. The complicated neck bandies of the Biedermeier period gradually disappeared. Functional jackets with long, differently colored pants and a colored tie were preferred. Outside the house, the gentleman was wearing an overskirt, a low, stiff hat, and low-heeled shoes. Beards and sober hairstyles completed the look.