Palazzo Fortuny: Inside the palace of a modern-day Leonardo da Vinci

Recently opened to the public, this artists' residence surprises whomever ventures in, making them wonder how such a splendid place exists in an otherwise sleepy Venetian square.

Palazzo Fortuny, the largest private gothic palace in Venice, was the home of Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo and Henriette Negrin, two artists, fashion designers and inventors with a style worthy of Arabian Nights sultans. On the piano nobile (literally "noble floor", or first floor), dark silk brocades and verdant tromp-l'oeil paintings cover the walls, while silk drapes hang like desert tents over large daybeds, sculptures, mysteriously veiled mannequins and even two eerie wax statues of toddlers in baroque dress.

Open to the public since 2022, this sumptuous residence surprises whomever walks past its unassuming facade and ventures in, making them wonder how such a sultry and eclectic universe came together in an otherwise sleepy Venetian campo (square).

Mariano, a Spanish aristocrat, bought the 15th-Century palace – originally called Palazzo Pesaro degli Orfei – in 1898 when he was 27 years old. Soon after, he went to Paris, fell in love with Henriette Negrin (who was still married to art dealer and painter Jean Eusèbe León Bellorgeot) and brought her back to Venice. The day she set foot in the lagoon city, on 14 July 1902, the iconic Bell Tower in Saint Mark's Square collapsed. 

Rumour has it that Mariano's mother, who didn't approve of their union, saw it as a bad sign. Nevertheless, Henriette divorced her French husband a few weeks later and the couple went on to make history. Aptly defined as magicians and alchemists for their abilities to create and transform materials and objects, Mariano and Henriette were partners in a business that gave the world more than 100 patents, ranging from the first silk pleated dress to a system for naval propulsion. They restored the palace, which was in a state of deep disrepair, starting from the attic and then gradually taking over the other floors, shaping them into their home and studio.

"Mariano is the Leonardo da Vinci of the modern era," says historian Cristina da Roit, "precisely because of his extraordinary creativity that marries art and science."

His creations spanned from a revolutionary theatre dome that could reproduce the changing hues of the sky from dawn to dusk, to tempera colours (pigments used for painting) beloved by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt.

It was his partner Henriette, though, who designed their most famous creation: the Delphos dress (1909), an iconic piece that became world famous. "It's the only dress created around 1910 that you can still put on today and be fashionable," says historian Guillermo da Osma. "You cannot do that with Poiret or Lanvin, not even with Chanel."

The Delphos dress is simultaneously comfortable, elegant and beguiling. It offers the freedom of wearing something that feels like silk pyjamas but makes one look like a Greek goddess, statuary and sensual at the same time. With its simple, lightweight and sinuous line, this gown soon became a symbol of women's newfound confidence in their own bodies. Not only did Albertine, the protagonist's lover in Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time, wear a Fortuny gown, but almost 100 years later, American feminist writer Susan Sonntag was buried in one.

"At the end of the 19th Century, clothes were artificial structure imposed on the body," says da Osma. "Mariano and Henriette didn't like that because of their academic training, which was the study of the nude. [They believed that] garments should not modify the figure, but cover it in a very natural, elegant, and minimalist way. And that was a revolution." 

The dress is a work of art, with four layers of thin silk and a system of strings held together by Murano glass pearl beads that makes it one-size-fits-all. The mechanics of the pleating technique remain a secret, but most experts believe that the silk was first wettened and then, using a fingernail, folded in small pleats that would be sewn in place and finally heated up with a warm rod to set, creating natural, irregular and shimmering curves that stay in shape even after 100 years.

Similar to its predecessor in the Fortuny collection, the Knossos shawl (1907), the Delphos dress was inspired by archaeological digs that took place on the Greek island of Crete few years earlier.

"[Mariano] saw the decorative patterns [of vases and other archaeological finds], which are crazy beautiful, and thought that he could bring them to the world through fashion," explains Da Roit.

Mariano and Henriette drew inspiration from Greek architecture, but also from Moorish Hispanic plates and Ottoman ceramics. When asked if that is cultural appropriation, Da Roit replied that she would rather define the couple as modern art directors with a rich mood board. "Mariano translates designs coming from very different cultures and he brings them​together, creating a unique, contemporary but timeless visual language." 

Ironically, considering that the dress was a symbol of women's liberation, Mariano took the credit for it. Although the pleating system was invented by Henriette, he deposited the patent, registering it under his own name, adding in a note that he did so for practical reasons and specifically "for the urgency of filing".

We don't know if that episode caused any conflict in their relationship, but we do know that the couple married after 22 years together, in Paris on 29 February 1924. "They are the protagonists of a wonderful story, a love story", explains Chiara Squarcina, Director of the MUVE (Fondazione Musei Civici Venezia). "And [after] he died in 1949, she donated this beautiful palace to the Municipality of Venice because she wanted to keep his memory alive." Since then, the palace had gone through different design iterations with the latest in 2019. To this day, historians argue about how the palace was redecorated and question its historical accuracy.

As da Osma puts it: "The palace has lost its soul. It was an incredible, magical place. And now it's a showroom. It's Disneyland."

The interiors were decorated by celebrated theatre designer Pier Luigi Pizzi, who has an extravagant and maximalist style (see his own living room, for example). When asked to recreate the house of "magician" Mariano after the exceptional floods of November 2019, Pizzi performed some magic himself, making artistic choices on which pieces to display and which to borrow from other museums. If da Osma thinks that the palazzo has thus lost its authenticity, Pizzi believes that it is now displaying its true essence.

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The palazzo had been used for contemporary art exhibitions for years after Henriette's death, and Pizzi wanted to free it from all the superfetation that had occurred over time. "The winter garden was a storage room, there were panels covering the windows," he explains. Pizzi brought out items that were stored in the many rooms of the building and retrieved the clothing collection of Mariano's mother that was at the time preserved at Palazzo Mocenigo. "Mostly, the palace was immersed in darkness," says Pizzi. "I drew back the heavy curtains that were covering the polifora (multi-part window), and suddenly the light flew in."

A visitor might be led to believe that today's theatrical setup shows the house in its original Fortuny state, and that the statues, paintings, brushes and tempera paints are exactly where the artist last placed them. However, archival photos show different interior designs over the years – as the couple often changed the position of furniture, artworks and objects – making it hard for curators to settle on one specific layout. And even more so, it's important to remember that Mariano and Henriette loved theatrical devises and illusions. Perhaps if they were to wander into Palazzo Fortuny today, they would love Pizzi's evocative design work. 

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