Street Style: Art and Dress in the Time of Caravaggio

A revealing portrait of class relations during the Italian Renaissance explored through the artistic representations of clothing.

In late sixteenth-century Rome, artists found inspiration in bustling streets and taverns, depicting soldiers, Romani fortune tellers, sex workers, and servants among the city’s poorest inhabitants. Street Style explores these hidden lives, uncovering how the stories of ordinary people are preserved through their clothing and appearances in art. Written records highlight the harsh conditions faced by marginalized groups, while prints and paintings often promoted visual stereotypes. With fresh interpretations of notable works by Caravaggio and his followers, this book reveals the complex social meanings of dress and the ways art captured and shaped the real-life struggles of early modern Italy’s lower classes.

Elizabeth Currie teaches at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. She has published widely on the history of fashion and textiles, including the edited volume A Cultural History of Dress and Fashion in the Renaissance.