Museo Fortuny: Venice

We wandered in here on a whim while roaming the narrow streets of Venice and were beguiled. It is the one-time live-work space of Mariano Fortuny and his creative partner and wife, Henriette Nigrin, and just his library/wunderkammer alone is worth the price of admission--tables strewn with cyanotypes, inspirational clippings bound by theme in great big scrapbooks covered with Fortuny fabrics. Besides the fabrics, he designed theatrical sets and innovative lighting tools to cast cloud patterns and shimmering moons on stage, and with Henriette, he created the fabulous pleated column dresses still associated with the Fortuny name (they have several on display + this is a picture of Henriette in one of the gowns). Worth visiting if you like artfully decayed palazzos, richly patterned hanging lanterns, silk tassels, ephemera, theatrical models, old photographs, fabulous sofas strewn with cushions, and artist studios.