Evening coat
Design House Fortuny Italian
Designer Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo Spanish
Not on view
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 beautiful textiles and unstructured garments, Fortuny continually referenced historical and non-Western sources, reviving and creating complex fabric treatments and dyeing techniques.
The T-shape of this evening coat and placement of the stencilled motifs are taken from the Coptic tunic, while the motifs themselves, executed in stencilled silver pigment, are Persian-inspired. The brightness of the metallic details nearly a century after their application is a testament to Fortuny's skill with formulating pigments.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.