Canvas & Silk: Historic Fashion from Madrid’s Museo del Traje

September 19, 2021–January 9, 2022

Click on the images below to see captions.

Traje de luces (chaquetilla, chaleco, calzón) [Bullfighter's Costume], 1876–1900. Silk, linen, cotton and silver metal. Museo del Traje, Madrid. ©Museo del Traje Centro de Investigación del Patrimonio Etnológico, Madrid, Spain; chaquetilla, CE005407; chaleco, CE0054408; calzón, CE005409. Photo by Munio Rodil Ares.
Antonio Casanova y Estorach (Spanish, 1847–1896), Favorites of the Court, 1877. Oil on canvas. Meadows Museum, SMU, Dallas. Algur H. Meadows Collection, MM.65.12. Photo by Michael Bodycomb.
Antonio Casanova y Estorach (Spanish, 1847–1896), Favorites of the Court (detail), 1877. Oil on canvas. Meadows Museum, SMU, Dallas. Algur H. Meadows Collection, MM.65.12. Photo by Michael Bodycomb.
Vestido Infantil Isabel de Bourbón y Bourbón (Dress), c. 1854–66. Cotton, silk, linen, metal, and gilded metal. Museo del Traje, Madrid. ©Museo del Traje. Centro de Investigación del Patrimonio Etnológico, Madrid, Spain; CE001269. Photo by Francisco Javier Maza Domingo.
Peineta (Comb), c. 1890. Paste and gilded metal. Museo del Traje, Madrid. ©Museo del Traje. Centro de Investigación del Patrimonio Etnológico, Madrid, Spain; CE001922. Photo by David Serrano Pascual.
(Abanico) (Fan), 1850–1859. Paper, horn, silvered metal, mother-of-pearl, horn, and wood. Museo del Traje, Madrid.. ©Museo del Traje. Centro de Investigación del Patrimonio Etnológico, Madrid, Spain; CE006504. Photo by Francisco Javier Maza Domingo.
Mantón de Manila (embroidered Manila silk shawl), c. 1920. Silk. Museo del Traje, Madrid. ©Museo del Traje. Centro de Investigación del Patrimonio Etnológico, Madrid, Spain; CE053257. Photo by Lucía Ybarra Zubiaga.
Mantón de Manila (embroidered Manila silk shawl) [detail], c. 1920. Silk. Museo del Traje, Madrid. ©Museo del Traje. Centro de Investigación del Patrimonio Etnológico, Madrid, Spain; CE053257. Photo by Lucía Ybarra Zubiaga.
Manuel Piña (Spanish, 1944–1994) [designer], Alex Serna [painter]; Vestido (Dress), 1991. Cellulose and cotton. Museo del Traje, Madrid. ©Museo del Traje. Centro de Investigación del Patrimonio Etnológico, Madrid, Spain; CE092707. Photo by Lucía Ybarra Zubiaga.
Traje a “la francesca” (calzón, chupa, casaca) [French Costume (Breeches, Vest, Dress Coat)], c. 1795–1800. Silk, linen, and cotton. Museo del Traje, Madrid. ©Museo del Traje. Centro de Investigación del Patrimonio Etnológico, Madrid, Spain. Calzón, CE000663; chupa, CE000664; casaca, CE000665. Photo by Gonzalo Cases Ortega.
Manuel Piña (Spanish, 1944–1994) [designer], Alex Serna [painter]; Zapatos (Shoes), 1991. Leather and paint. Museo del Traje, Madrid. ©Museo del Traje. Centro de Investigación del Patrimonio Etnológico, Madrid, Spain; CE092707. Photo by David Serrano Pascual.

Spanish fashion has long been a point of interest for the Meadows Museum, whether in the form of past exhibitions—such as Balenciaga and His Legacy: Haute Couture from the Texas Fashion Collection in 2007—or as portrayed in the collection’s prints, paintings, and sculptures. Rather than focus on a particular artist, Canvas & Silk: Historic Fashion from Madrid’s Museo del Traje will for the first time pair works in the Meadows collection with representative examples of the historic dress depicted to shed new light on the relationship between representation and reality, between image and artifact. The exhibition is possible thanks to an unprecedented collaboration with Madrid’s premier museum of historic dress, the Museo del Traje, and seeks to offer a glimpse into some historical fashions through the lens of Spanish art.

Canvas & Silk will be curated in collaboration with the Museo del Traje and marks that institution’s first major partnership with an American museum. Loans include jewelry, shoes, accessories, and ensembles for men, women, and children. The combined installation of objects and images from the Enlightenment to the modern era will facilitate rich dialogues between fashion and the fine arts in which the visitor will experience and learn about the evolution of both. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated publication featuring a single essay co-authored by the exhibition’s curators, Amanda W. Dotseth (Meadows Museum) and Elvira González (Museo del Traje).

This exhibition has been organized by the Meadows Museum, SMU, Dallas, and the Museo del Traje, Centro de Investigación del Patrimonio Etnológico, Madrid, Spain, and is funded by a generous gift from The Meadows Foundation.