Art Speaks: The “Flowering” of Fashion in Plant-Obsessed Europe

With Genevieve Cortinovis, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts and Design

In conjunction with this year’s Art in Bloom, this talk will explore the vogue for floral textiles in 18th-century European fashion, highlighting the influence of botanical illustrations and drawing books, advances in horticulture and botany, the rise of publicly accessible gardens, and the import of textiles from Asia, especially India and China. It will highlight the colonial underpinnings of botanomania and trace its profound impact on both professional and amateur textile designers and makers.

This live virtual program will take place via Zoom and will include opportunities for participants to ask questions with the Q&A feature. Attendees’ mics and cameras will not be activated. This event will have automated closed captions.

Attendees must register to receive the Zoom link. Capacity for the live program is limited.

A closed-captioned recording of the program will become available on the Museum’s YouTube channel and website in the weeks following.