Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo

Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo was a Spanish fashion designer that was born from a family of artist in 1871. At a young age, it was apparent that Fortuny was a gifted artist and later on diversify his talents some of them including inventing, painting, photography, sculpting, architecture, etching and theatrical stage lighting. His interest soon shifted from painting to set design and stage lightning after a visit to Beyreuth and encounter with Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk. He used these indirect lighting techniques in his new invention, the Fortuny cyclorama dome, a quarter dome shaped structure of plaster or cloth. From the same concept of the dome, Fortuny created a lamp that could be used to recreate indoor lighting onstage, the Fortuny Moda Lamp. Fortuny also is remembered for his brightly coloured pleated gowns. He died in 1949, and is buried at Verano in Rome alongside his famous father.