Emília Coranty, the first woman admitted to study arts and crafts at the Escuela de la Lonja in Barcelona, was awarded a grant to continue her studies in Rome. There she made this copy of the so-called Dalmatic of Charlemagne preserved at St Peter’s, which is said by tradition to have been worn by the emperor on the day of his coronation. The choice of a textile piece demonstrates not only the artist’s gender conscience, since she differed from the other scholarship holders in not replicating a canonical masterpiece, but also her knowledge of the history of woven fabrics. These had a long tradition in Catalonia, where she eventually came to specialise herself in textile draughtsmanship and design.

G. Navarro, Carlos, Invitadas. Fragmentos sobre mujeres, ideología y artes plásticas en España (1833-1931), Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2020, p.302 nº 79