"Paper Dolls . . . "

Greetings,

How on Earth have I missed hearing about this - and thank heavens for the bus advertisement that I saw, whilst stuck in weird traffic this morning, on the way into work.

Pulp Fashion opened about two weeks ago at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco and is running through June 5.  The name of the exhibit also describes the works themselves.  Period costumes.  Made from paper.  Seriously, paper.

"Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave is a painter by training, but 

textile and costume are her muses. Working in collaboration with 

leading costume historians and young fashion designers, de Borchgrave crafts 

a world of splendor from the simplest rag paper. Painting and manipulating 

the paper, she forms trompe l’oeil masterpieces of elaborate dresses inspired 

by rich depictions in early European painting or by iconic costumes 

in museum collections around the world."

Eleanor of Toledo (above), 2006, inspired by a ca. 1545 portrait of Eleanor and 

her son Giovanni de’ Medici by Agnolo Bronzino in the collection 

of the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. 

(Photo: René Stoeltie)

"Eleonora di Toledo with Her Son Giovanni "

(ca. 1545) by Agnolo Bronzino, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florance

Elizabeth I court dress (above), 2001, inspired by a ca. 1599 portrait by 

the studio of Nicholas Hilliard at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire. 

(Photo: Andreas von Einsiedel)

"Elizabeth I", 1599-1600, Hardwick Hall portrait, 

by Nicolas Hilliard.

(Detail of the dress above)

"Pulp Fashion draws on several themes and presents quintessential examples in 

the history of costume—from Renaissance finery of the Medici family and gowns 

worn by Elizabeth I and Marie-Antoinette to the creations of the grand 

couturiers Frederick Worth, Paul Poiret, Christian Dior, and Coco Chanel. 

Special attention is given to the creations and studio of Mariano 

Fortuny, the eccentric early-20th-century artist who is both 

a major source of inspiration to de Borchgrave and a kindred spirit."

Marie de’ Medici (detail), 2006, inspired by a 1595 portrait by Pietro 

Facchetti in the collection of the Palazzo Lancellotti, Rome. 

(Photo: Andreas von Einsiedel)

Click HERE for ticket information.

Cheers,

Scot

(All images from the Legion of Honor Website.)