Previous Exhibition

Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave

February 5 - June 5, 2011
Legion of Honor, Special Exhibition Galleries

Bianca ("Bia") de’ Medici (ca. 1536–1542), 2006
Inspired by a ca. 1542 portrait by Agnolo Bronzino
(Italian, 1503–1572) in the collection of the
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
47 5/8 x 20 1/2 x 18 1/8 in. (121 x 52 x 46 cm)
Photo: Andreas von Einsiedel

For more than 15 years, Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave has been producing a completely original body of work, creating exquisite, life-size historical costumes entirely from paper. Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave, the first exhibition to offer an overview of the artist’s most important works, presents more than 60 trompe l’oeil masterpieces drawn from quintessential examples in costume history.

Embodying the traditions of textiles, paper craft, and pattern painting, the art of de Borchgrave complements the distinguished textiles collection at the de Young Museum as well as the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts at the Legion, one of the country’s top repositories for works of art on paper.

Taking inspiration from European paintings, iconic costumes in museum collections, and other sources, de Borchgrave skillfully works paper to achieve the effect of textiles: crumpling, pleating, braiding, feathering, and painting the surface. Her work draws on multiple historical periods, including Renaissance clothing of the Medici family; gowns worn by Elizabeth I and Marie-Antoinette; and designs of the grand couturiers Fredrick Worth, Paul Poiret, Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, and Mariano Fortuny. 

For this special San Francisco presentation, the artist found inspiration in the European painting collection at the Legion of Honor and displays seven creations inspired by six paintings, including Massimo Stanzione, Woman in Neapolitan Costume (ca. 1635); Jean-Léon Gérôme, The Bath (ca. 1880–1885); and Konstantin Makovsky, The Russian Bride’s Attire (1889). This exhibition is the latest entry in the Fine Arts Museums’ Collection Connections series, which presents new works that aim to reinterpret traditional objects from the permanent collection.

Despite first appearances, de Borchgrave’s creations are not stringent copies of the originals; they are more like impressions. Throughout her career, de Borchgrave has worked in a variety of media—including paint, textiles, ceramics, and, ultimately, paper. But it is de Borchgrave the painter who is perhaps the most forceful presence. The artist explains that while studying a work, she imagines the mindset of the artist who depicted the costume and tries to conjure the psyche of the subject. Through her work, de Borchgrave invites us in and encourages us to participate in the pageant of history.

Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and sponsored by Lonna Wais. Additional support is provided by Elizabeth W. Vobach. Collection Connections is made possible by The Annenberg Foundation. The exhibition catalogue is supported in part by a grant from Friends of Fiber.

Fortuny tent, 2006–2007 Inspired by photographs of Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo’s Venice studio and his installation at the1911 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs, Paris Photographed inside Palazzo Fortuny