Let's continue the Fortuny thread that started yesterday, but let's take a break from fashion to refocus on architecture and on the more technical aspects of Mariano Fortuny's work with a lighter post.
When Fortuny took possession of Palazzo Pesaro degli Orfei the building had been divided in different apartments that were rented out, so he had to start a long restoration to allow the structure to regain its monumental dimensions and the proportions of its space.
Rooms were transformed by Fortuny and his wife Henriette into workshops where his experimental products were created.
Spaces were filled up with objects or pieces of furniture Fortuny created, from curved shelving to easel-benches for painting and drawing, working tables, reading desks and lamps.
The first floor of the palazzo was transformed into a space for living and working, and lavishly furnished with walls and sofas covered in luxurious textiles.
The second floor portego and the attic were used by the workers to produce Fortuny's famous fabrics and costumes.
Nowadays it's not possible to visit Fortuny's personal studio, but you can still see it: it is located on the second floor of Palazzo Pesaro degli Orfei, a space bathed by the light coming in from the large windows.
The studio is protected by a glass screen through which visitors can admire his books, presses, photographic equipment, vials of colours and cases.
Everything is perfectly preserved and stacked upon the shelves and the spirit of the alchemist who once lived and worked here seems to be still haunting this magic world (Fortuny's palette hanging on a wall downstairs next to a basin splattered with paint, is also another trace that makes visitors feel as if his ghost never left the palazzo).
Fortuny's fans who are more interested in the technical aspects of his work, will be happy to know that in Venice there is a vast archive of his matrixes for fabric printing, drawings, sketches and preliminary studies with pencil, ink and tempera on paper, and pencil and ink on waxed canvas.
Fortuny's motifs printed on his luxurious fabrics were inspired by Indian motifs from Ajanta and Byzantine and Middle Eastern patterns, but also had strong links with Medieval and Italian Renaissance designs.
Some of them were also included in the exhibition "I Fortuny. Una storia di famiglia" that celebrated Mariano Fortuny y Marsal and his son Mariano Fortuny de Madrazo) and we will look at them in more detail in a future post.
Image credits for this post
All images in this post copyright © Anna Battista, 2019
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