(c) 2022 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Garment Fabric

makerDesigned by Charles Frederick Worth (Bourne, Lincolnshire, 1825 - 1895, Paris)

Dateabout 1885-1891

Place MadeLyons, Lyonnais, France, Europe

MediumSilk: compound satin with supplementary wefts of silver

Dimensions134.6 x 271.8 cm (53 x 107 in.)

ClassificationsCostume

Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Accession numberT26e8.a-b

Status

Not on view

Web CommentaryIsabella reinforced and elaborated on the themes in Titian's painting The Rape of Europa with her installation. This fragment (now a reproduction) of a Charles Frederick Worth-designed gown—which Isabella wore to the 1891 Myopia Hunt Club Ball in South Hamilton, Massachusetts—extends the impression of a shimmering sea out of the painting and into the room. Each stylized tassel of its woven pattern resembles the bull's bushy tail, which playfully grazes a cupid's head.

Id720920

Last Updated8/9/24

Original NumberT26e8

Textile Database Number756

EmbARK ObjectID13361

Alt. No. 1 (Siple)028

Source ID2317