The Vanity of Women: Masks and Bustles

Art Historical Context

Created around 1600 by Flemish artist Maerten de Vos, *The Vanity of Women: Masks and Bustles* is an engraving paper that offers a witty yet pointed commentary on fashion and morality. De Vos, known for his detailed Mannerist designs and religious works, frequently explored allegorical themes in prints intended for wide circulation. Here, the composition highlights exaggerated accessories—masks for concealment and bustles for silhouette—as emblems of fleeting vanity, inviting viewers to reflect on the ephemeral nature of outward appearance. As a work in the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute, the print bridges art and dress history. Engravings like this one served as both entertainment and moral instruction in early modern Europe, when printed images reached audiences far beyond painted canvases. Its presence in a costume collection underscores how clothing and adornment were understood not merely as style but as social signals open to critique. The sheet’s crisp linework captures the textures of fabric and ornament with remarkable clarity, demonstrating the technical sophistication of Northern European printmaking at the turn of the seventeenth century. Today it reminds visitors that debates over fashion’s excesses have deep historical roots.