#2646x $5,900 Sold
Gallenga stenciled velvet coat, c.1925
The textile art of Maria Monaci Gallenga is often compared to that of Fortuny because they both produced hand-stenciled designs that drew inspiration from the distant past. Gallenga became the mentor of the Italian Futurists. In 1925 she exhibited in the Italian Pavilion of the Art Deco Exposition, winning the Grand Prix for stenciled textiles. This is all the more remarkable because Fortuny was then the most prominent Italian designer.
The patterns of Gallenga are generally larger and less textured than those of Fortuny. Gallenga's loyal followers, who frequented her shop in Florence, preferred the antique Gothic quality of her designs. She is best known for medieval and Oriental designs stenciled in shades of silver and gold.
Made from dove gray silk velvet and lined with cream colored silk crepe, the magnificent coat has the long, partially open sleeves seen in her tabard tea gowns. As in many of her stenciled patterns, the sleeves were inspired by medieval fashion. The three-quarter-length coat is gently shaped with hand-stitched pleats at the shoulders and back of the neck.
The simple straight cut is the perfect canvas for stenciled art. The artist generally used up to nine tones of gold and silver pigment to achieve the desired ombré shading. The metallic pigment does not tarnish or flake off, thanks to a special formula devised by Gallenga's husband, a Professor at the University of Rome.
The pattern of medieval winged creatures and Chinese Fu dogs is one of the most elaborate that Gallenga created. The Gothic silver-and-gold stenciling on gray velvet is rich and subtle. It has an exotic fascination that draws the viewer into the rich mystery of the plush velvet, "the aristocrat of stuffs," to use Fortuny's phrase. (The reciprocal artistic influences between Fortuny and Gallenga are worthy of a PhD thesis.)
What makes the stenciled pattern among her best is the extensive elaboration of the symmetrical design. It is easier to use a small, all-over repeat pattern that occupies a limited section of the clothing canvas but is repeated many times. In contrast, Gallenga here uses half the coat length to work out the inspired design.
With her exotic beauty and tremendous talent as an artist, Maria Gallenga made her big splash in the art world at a New York theatre opening in 1916. She wore an original Gallenga, a medieval tabard tea gown stenciled with her signature multi-toned gold and silver paint. Her career took off. Her high reputation today as a creator of one-of-a-kind costume art rightfully places her in the pantheon of fashion greats.
Documentation: the coat is signed Maria Monaci Gallenga on the lower left sleeve. As is typical of Gallenga, the stenciled signature is barely legible.
The condition is almost excellent. The lining has been reinforced at the back neckline to make the coat wearable.
It measures: 40" bust and waist, 44" hip, 14" from shoulder seam to shoulder seam, and 43" from shoulder to hem.
