Mannequin

A life-size full or see thumbnail to leftpartial representation of the human figure. Mannequins are often used for the fitting or exhibiting of clothes. May also refer to see thumbnail to righta jointed model of a human figure used by artists, especially for use with drapery. This term is derived from an old Dutch word for little person, mannekijn. It was absorbed into English usage at about the same time that English speakers took from the Dutch words the words "easel" and "landscape."(pr. MAN-nə-kən)Examples of art in which mannequins appear:Giorgio de Chirico (Italian, 1888-1978), The Painter's Family, 1926, oil on canvas, 146.4 x 114.9 cm, Tate Gallery, London. Mannequins were a pre-World War I motif for de Chirico. Here, several years after that war, he reimages mannequins as members of a painter's family. The grouping is reminiscent of traditional depictions of the Holy Family. The figures simultaneously evoke a classical past and an anxiety about the state of contemporary art. See Metaphysical Painting.Abelardo Morell (American, born Cuba, 1948-), The Metropolitan Opera: Costume Shop Mannequins, 2005, photograph of various sizes of mannequins used by costume makers.Also see costume, Dutch art, model, nude, placeholder, puppet, and sculpture.