Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, the magician of Venice

Nerea Barros opens a box and takes out a rolled up cloth. Little by little, a Delphos unfolds before our eyes. It is much more than a beautiful pleated dress created by Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo (Granada, 1871-Venice, 1949). It is a jewel, an icon. This is how the documentary ‘The universe in a box’ begins, which tonight is broadcast on the program ‘Essentials’, on TVE. Produced by Siesta Producciones, in co-production with RTVE, it is directed by José Sánchez Montes, nominated for a Goya for best documentary feature film for ‘Omega’ about cantaor Enrique Morente. He is also the producer of films by Alberto Rodríguez such as ‘El hombre de las mil caras’, ‘La isla minima’ and ‘Grupo 7’. In this case, the protagonist is an off-road artist, a modern Da Vinci, a MacGyver of art, science, technology, fashion, theater, photography… The prince of the Alhambra, the magician and alchemist of Venice. He played all the sticks, and all with mastery, away from fashions and trends. A total artist, as Wagner admired him claimed, although he is still unknown to many. And that is one of the few proper names that Proust cites in ‘In Search of Lost Time’. I was fascinated by it, just like Balenciaga and Pertegaz. Son of the famous painter Mariano Fortuny y Marsal (he inherits his taste for the exotic and oriental) and Cecilia Madrazo, daughter and sister of great creators (his grandfather the painter Federico de Madrazo was director of the Prado), art was in his DNA. He is the boy who appears playing, together with his sister María Luisa, in the splendid painting ‘The painter’s children in the Japanese room’, his father’s masterpiece, which is in the Prado collection. Interior of the Palazzo Fortuny in Venice ABC The documentary is part of the Universo Fortuny program, promoted by the Fortuny M Culture Association of Granada, which commemorates the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of this artist and the centenary of the creation of the Fortuny Factory, on the Giudecca, one of the islands of Venice. It includes unpublished material: recordings and photographs of his childhood, his family, his honeymoon, his travels through Morocco, Greece, Egypt…, made by Fortuny himself. A treasure, his archive, preserved in the Palazzo Pesaro degli Orfei, a fascinating place in Campo San Beneto, in the heart of the City of Canals. A kind of Cave of Ali Babá full of treasures (fabrics, tapestries, paintings, sculptures, furniture…) and that has opened its doors after undertaking some reform works. There he lived a good part of his life with his wife, the French dressmaker Henriette Nigrin, his closest collaborator. They attribute to her being the true creator of Delphos, although her authorship was taken by her husband. It is a visionary creation in finely pleated silk satin, a revolutionary immortal garment inspired by the famous ‘Charioteer’ of Delphi, who freed women from corsets and was worn by famous women such as Isadora Duncan, Peggy Guggenheim, Sarah Bernhardt, Lauren Hutton, Lauren Bacall… Annie Leibovitz shrouded her partner Susan Sontag with a Delphos. Sorolla portrayed her daughter Elena wearing a yellow one that she had given him. Filming in a pandemic José Sánchez Montes tells ABC via telephone that he came to the character through Guillermo de Osma’s book and conversations with the Fortuny M Culture Association, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the artist’s birth. «At first we thought about making a video, but as soon as I got into the character it grew. Both his life and his work are fascinating; his relationship with his wife, which is transcendental and unknown… All this led me to make a long film. I work on impulse, and when I find a character that really appeals to me, knowing that you are going to dedicate three years of your life to it, the enthusiasm grows. They were caught by the pandemic and acknowledge that there have been quite a few difficulties in filming: “We had to go to Paris, to Venice, the museum was closed for renovation… But, fortunately, I think we were able to tell what we wanted to tell” . Although there is no evil that for good does not come. Thanks to the pandemic, he was able to portray a silent and melancholic Venice, the Venice of the Venetians, far removed from the city taken daily by legions of tourists: «It was a time of special virulence of the Covid, there were many restrictions and we had the lucky enough to shoot in what looks like another city. It came in handy for us. We enjoyed a lot.” Beyond the first sequence, why has he titled it ‘The Universe in a Box’? «When looking for a title, they are always like little intuitions. It seemed to me that when the ladies who had ordered the custom dresses arrived at those boxes and opened them, it was like finding something magical inside. He has not raised the character that Nerea Barros embodies as an ‘alter ego’ of Henriette: «No, it is an invention. A character that gave importance to the female figures that had so much importance in the life of Mariano Fortuny». «I am very interested in characters who are anchored and know the past, but are transgressors and build things from the next century, like Morente and Fortuny» José Sánchez Montes Film director Do you think he was an alchemist, a magician, as he is usually called ? «I think he has a lot of a working magician, not an abracadabra, as Guillermo de Osma says. I am very interested in characters who are anchored and know a lot about the past, but are transgressors and build things for the next century. It happened to me with Enrique Morente, it happened to me with Mariano Fortuny. People who have to know the tradition very well to do something revolutionary». «I am happy to humbly collaborate in the recovery of such a substantial figure. Despite being out of it all his life, he recognized himself as Spanish », points out Sánchez Montes. Nerea Barros, in a still from ‘The universe in a box’ ABC The actress Nerea Barros, Goya for best new actress for ‘The minimal island’, is the narrator of this fascinating story and exceptional guide through the cities of Fortuny: Granada , Madrid, Paris, Venice…, the places of his memory. Two other women break and tear have collaborated in the documentary: the bailaora Eva Yerbabuena, who has acted as a choreographer, and the seamstress Pilar Dalbat, who brought to life a collection inspired by Fortuny’s creations. Some of her spectacular designs are worn by Nerea Barros -all elegance and sensitivity- in dream locations. In the documentary, two original Delphos, which are 120 years old, are sheathed. How does one feel with a Delphos? “Go figure! And I haven’t had one, but two. You feel very special, it is a privilege. The Delphos was one of the milestones in history that unstrapped women. Just as Fortuny was a complete artist like Da Vinci, his wife was a bit of a head, the artist behind the design. They are dresses that have marked an era and that generates a lot of emotion. One of them, which was in a worse state of conservation, in silk, woven by hand… It was almost like putting a papyrus on you », replies the actress in a telephone conversation while going to the Casa de América, where it took place a few years ago. presentation days. «I fell in love with Henriette, with her fragility, with the beauty, with the subtlety of this deeply interesting woman» Nerea Barros Actress About her character in the documentary, the actress comments that «in some way, I fell in love with Henriette , of her fragility, of the beauty, of the subtlety of this deeply interesting woman, as the film progressed. She is the great unknown, not because Fortuny wanted to cover her up. He defended her a lot. Together they formed a great couple of artists and added to each other. It was the time, and always has passed. Talented women have always been forgotten. She believes Nerea that she must have some Andalusian gene: «Flamenco drives me crazy. Eva Yerbabuena is a woman I greatly admire. She brought me her brand new 18th century silk shawl. We spent hours moving that shawl… There is something so generous. Eva moves an arm or her face and there is such a great truth. Being up to the task did seem like a great responsibility to me.” Nerea Barros says that Fortuny is a man whom she greatly admires: «Everything he touches turns it into an avant-garde. And that is very interesting. Fortuny has given us so much. Today’s society is not aware, it is very unknown. His advances changed the theatrical scene: technology, light, design… he was a complete artist. His father was a painter who played with light in an incredible way. And his son, nothing further from wanting to become his father, found his own path as an artist, accompanied by his wife, who was also an artist. They built together and had a palace solely dedicated to art. A place that surprises and overwhelms you. When I was in that palace, I felt that the history of art entered me through them. One of the privileges that my profession has is that it takes you to wonderful places. He registered some thirty patents On the personality and talent of Mariano Fortuny Madrazo, the documentary collects the testimonies of the gallery owner Guillermo de Osma, author of a monograph on the artist; Mickey Riad , creative director and co-owner of the Fortuny factory, as well as art historians, curators, curators, fashion specialists… A craftsman with engineering skills, he invented scenographic lighting systems (such as the Fortuny Dome ), textile printing, of pleating mechanisms (it seems that in the Delphos it used albumin, a protein obtained from egg white)… and even a ship propulsion system. He registered some thirty patents. Many of his creations are still made today at the Venice factory and sold at the Fortuny store in Paris. In addition to the Delphos, he created another timeless garment, the Knossos shawl, inspired by decorations from palaces excavated in Crete. They say that a woman dressed by Fortuny will still be the best dressed a hundred years later. But painting was always his great passion. MORE INFORMATION news If A ‘Piedad’ by Goya, painted in his youth, up for auction in Madrid news If the Prado rearranges its deposit policy, but will not open sub-headquarters or ‘mini-Prados’ news If the Reina Sofía shields the ‘Guernica’ , while closing fifty rooms Visionary in love with beauty and life, monarchist, conservative, despite the fact that he ended his days in Venice, he always felt very Spanish. The documentary ends with a beautiful image, very theatrical and cinematographic: Henriette, devastated by the death of her husband, and to preserve her secrets, throws the dyes into the Grand Canal. The waters seem dyed with Fortuny colors. Fact or invention? There is no document to corroborate it, it is only in the oral tradition. Does not matter, nevermind. There are legends that deserve to be true. It is a fascinating performance. As they say in Italy, “se non è vero, è ben trovato”.