Section 1
The first part of the exhibition presents masterpieces of Italian painting and textiles production dating from the second half of the 14th century to the end of the Renaissance. The comparison of these two forms of art enable to trace the technical and decorative evolution of fabrics and costumes, their use and importance in the social and cultural context of the time.
The section opens with an altar frontal from the Galleria dell'Accademia, a work by the embroiderer Jacopo Cambi dating from 1336. There follow examples from the chief 14th-century Italian textile manufacturers, led by Lucca and Venice, and their commercial relations with the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
During the early Renaissance, Florence replaced Lucca as the leading producer of silk fabrics. Weaving techniques became more complex, permitting the manufacture of lampas and worked velvets enriched with brocade. These velvets with a red background and designs in gold or silver became a mark of absolute privilege reserved for the clothing of courtiers and priests. These types of fabrics are represented in paintings such as the Young Martyrs of Girolamo da Santacroce and in Bernardino Fungai's Scipio's magnanimity.
The dialogue between painting and textile worked both ways. In the late 15th century a number of figured fabrics reproduce works by great Florentine painters, such as the altar-frontal commissioned by Sixtus IV della Rovere, based on designs from the workshop of Antonio del Pollaiolo.
In the 16th century Italian fabrics enjoyed even more prestige. The general change in fashion led to changes also in fabric design, as the spread of patterns of grids with decorative motifs in the centre. In the case of dress materials, damasks and brocades became a viable alternative to the more prestigious velvets and types of lampas. The very richest fabrics continued to be in request from the Catholic Church, which exploited them to assert its prestige and authority.
