"Apollo of Versailles"

Title: "Apollo of Versailles"
Rights: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Public Domain.
Creator: Elsa Schiaparelli (Italian, 1890–1973)
Date: 1938–39 C.E.
Description: Elsa Schiaparelli designed this cape in 1938 as part of her winter Cosmique collection, which featured designs inspired by the heavenly bodies and the field of astronomy. The cape depicts the Greek god of the sun, Apollo, in the foreground with brilliant rays of gold bursting in the background like solar rays. Apollo’s chariot and bow are also depicted using gold and metallic thread, beads, and paillettes. Schiaparelli chose this particular deity to reflect her client Lady Mendl, an American actress and interior designer who resided at the Villa Trianon in Versailles at the time. Mendl’s villa lies across from the fountain of Apollo at the Palace of Versailles. The cape not only captures the elegance and intricacy of Schiaparelli’s designs, but also the opulence of Lady Mendl who was widely regarded for her style.
Format: silk, metallic.
Publisher: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Contributor: Melissa Valenzuela.
Identifier: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. C.I.51.83.
Subject: Fashion; fashion design; cape; astronomy; Greek mythology; France; Apollo; Lady Mendl; actress.
Source: Jpg file. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 11/11/2021. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/81142