Clothes, attire, and apparel have long been an integral part of the artistic persona: from Rembrandt’s toques and turbans to Vigée-Lebrun’s long shawls; from George Sand dressing as a man to Rodin’s studies for Balzac’s dressing gown and Marcel Duchamp assuming the guise of Rrose Sélavy, and from Sonia Delaunay’s simultaneous dresses to Alexander Rodchenko’s Productivist jumpsuit or Andy Warhol’s wig ...

The garments chosen by the artist reveal an identity, and an artistic truth that is both intimate and public. This exhibition examines the ways in which artists are represented, both by themselves and by other artists. What lies behind the choice of a particular outfit? The self-portrait, like the representation of an artist by one of their peers, is a distinct genre that can reveal just as much about an era or an artistic intention as it does about conceptions of the artist’s place in society.

This exhibition analyses the history of these representations, using paintings, sculptures, and drawings, from the Renaissance to the present day, along with photographs, clothing, and accessories too. The exhibition thus proposes an exploration of the history of fashion, and of the artists themselves, reflecting on what clothing may mean in terms of self- and artistic expression.