Jacket

Fortuny|Mariano Fortuny

first quarter 20th century · silk, pigment · Costume Institute

Spanish-born artist and designer Mariano Fortuny was active in Italy, where he established a textile workshop and a commercial silk printing factory--a version of which still operates today. Best known for his textiles and unstructured garments, Fortuny continually referenced historical and non-Western sources, reviving and creating complex fabric treatments and dyeing techniques. Fortuny drew inspiration for his textiles from Renaissance velvets and portraits displayed in the Venetian museums near his studio. The foliate design on this jacket of green silk velvet was achieved by hand stamping pigments mixed with metallic powder. The imprint mimics fifteenth- and sixteenth-century voided and brocaded velvets with metallic threads.

Artist

Fortuny|Mariano Fortuny

Date

first quarter 20th century

Medium

silk, pigment

Culture

Italian

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Jacqueline Loewe Fowler, 2013