Museum gotta see 'um

For more than 15 years, the Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave has recreated life-size historical costumes entirely from paper. Taking inspiration from rich depictions in early European paintings, iconic costumes in museum collections, photographs, sketches and even literary descriptions, de Borchgrave works paper to achieve the effect of textiles: crumpling, pleating, braiding, feathering and painting the surface.

With Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave, San Francisco’s Legion of Honor presents 60 of de Borchgrave’s trompe l’oeil works that draw on several themes presenting quintessential examples in the history of costume—from Renaissance costumes of the Medici family and gowns worn by Elizabeth I and Marie-Antoinette to the designs of the grand couturiers Fredrick Worth, Paul Poiret, Christian Dior and Coco Chanel. Special attention is given to the creations and studio of Mariano Fortuny, the eccentric early 20th-century artist, who is both a kindred spirit and a major source of inspiration to de Borchgrave. Additionally, five creations inspired by four paintings in the Legion of Honor’s European collection are presented for the first time.

De Borchgrave, a painter by training, works in collaboration with leading costume historians and young fashion designers to create a world of splendor from simplest rag paper. Painting and manipulating the paper, she crafts elaborate dresses inspired by the rich depictions in early European painting or by the iconic costumes in museum collections around the world. As de Borchgrave explains, "Although my inspiration springs from the period dresses in the great museum collections, this is just a wink at history. My work is a confluence of influences—paper, painting, sculptor, textiles, costume, illusion and trompe l’oeil.”

The exhibition is presented in six sections:

• The Artist’s Studio provides insight into de Borchgrave’s creative process.

• In White showcases a selection of nine dresses devoid of color.

• Papiers à la Mode features gowns worn by legendary historical figures Elizabeth I, Madame de Pompadour, Empress Eugénie and Marie-Antoinette. Famous designers Charles Fredrick Worth, Paul Poiret and Coco Chanel are represented by signature pieces.

• Fortuny is an immersive environment created under a feather-light paper tent populated by recreations of Fortuny’s famed pleated and draped gowns.

• The Medici is the artist’s most extravagant series, with elaborate velvets, needlework lace, ropes of pearls, and intricate coiffures transformed into paper sculpture.

• Inspiration draws on images from four paintings in the museum’s European painting collection: Massimo Stanzione, Woman in Neapolitan Costume, 1635, Konstantin Makovsky, The Russian Bride’s Attire, 1889, Jacob-Ferdinand Voet, Anna Caffarelli Minuttiba, 1675, and Anthony van Dyck, Marie Claire de Cory and Child, 1634.

Fine Arts Museums director John E. Buchanan Jr., said of the exhibition, "I am proud to say that this exhibition, so appropriately presented in the galleries of our Legion of Honor museum, is the first to offer an overview of the artist’s most important bodies of work: from the white dresses and Papiers à la Mode to the Fortuny and Medici collections and her newest creations.”

The Legion of Honor Museum is located in Lincoln Park, 34th Avenue and Clement Street, San Francisco. Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.; closed on Monday. Docent Clara Morrissey speaks on "Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave” at 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 5. The lecture is free after museum admission and no reservations are required. For information, visit www.legionofhonor.org or call (415) 750-3600. Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave runs through June 5.

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MUSEUM HONORS PATRON. Noted arts patron Delia Fleishhacker Ehrlich receives the 2011 San Francisco Arts Medallion from the Museum of Performance & Design at the Museum’s annual Arts Medallion Luncheon May 31. The Medallion was created in 2005 to recognize individuals whose leadership, actions and generosity have benefited the cultural life of the Bay Area. Past recipients of the San Francisco Arts Medallion have been Stanlee Gatti (2005), Gordon Getty (2006), Diane B. Wilsey (2007), Mr. and Mrs. George F. Jewett Jr. (2008), The Honorable Willie L. Brown Jr. (2009) and Nancy H. Bechtle (2010). 11:30 a.m. Four Seasons Hotel, 757 Market St., San Francisco. Tickets $125 and up. (415) 255-4800 ext. *819 or www.mpdsf.org for more information.

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REDISCOVERED MASTERPIECES. The Cantor Arts Center on the Stanford campus exhibits A Rediscovered Masterpiece: 12 Drawings from Domenico Tiepolo’s New Testament, illustrations drawn by the prolific Venetian master (1727–1804) of the story of Jesus and events in the lives of Christian saints. Palm Drive at Museum Way. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday until 8 p.m. For information call 723-4177 or visit museum.stanford.edu. Through May 29. Free.

Susan Cohn can be reached at susan@smdailyjournal.com or www.twitter.com/susancityscene.