Mariano Fortuny e la Grecia. Il ‘delphos’ e lo ‘scialle Knossos’ a confronto: dall’austerità classica alla seduzione minoica

Ilaria Caloi,

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Abstract

This paper deals with reception of ancient Greece in the textile production of Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, who was an important representative of Italian fashion in the first half of the 20th century. It focuses on his most famous creations, that are the Delphos gown and the Knossos scarf, in order to compare the different nature of his inspirations. Indeed, for the Delphos gown he was inspired by the famous Charioteer of Delphi and the well-known Archaic Greek korai, which came to light during systematic excavations carried out in Greece during the second half of the 19th century. The Knossos scarf, created from 1906 to 1928, was instead printed with floral and marine motifs inspired to Minoan Crete. The former represents Fortuny’s interpretation of Greek art and woman, the latter represents Fortuny’s understanding of Minoan art and woman.

In this paper it will be argued that Fortuny’s Delphos gown is a simple and undecorated dress which, although following the feminine silhoutte, reflects the idea of austerity and strictness that the archaeologists of the beginning of the 20th century attributed to the Greek woman represented on the Archaic korai. In contrast, the woman wearing Fortuny’s Knossos scarves appears to be a mixture of mystical and sensual, as well reported by the archaeologists and art historians of the early 20 th century that brought to light the Minoan civilization. If the woman wearing the Delphos gown recalls a severe femininity, inspired to Classicism, the woman wearing the Knossos scarf instead expresses a new femininity, intensely infused with a scent of seduction imported from the Orient, and well represented by the American pioneer dancer Ruth Saint Denis.