There is no clear inside or outside of the garment. Only the words on the arms are legible from the outside, the rest are can be read from the inside, where she placed them close to her skin. The garment is part of the Prinzhorn Collection at the Universitaetsklinik Heidelberg. Due to its fragile nature it’s not always available for public view.
The red garment above is an 18th century silk bodice embroidered by Rosalind Wyatt, a calligrapher from the UK The embroidery features letters between Daniel Hack Tuke, Wyatt’s husband’s great great grandfather (1827 – 1895) and his newly wed wife Esther Strickland. They were written on a 1853 journey while visiting various European asylums. The Tuke family is known for radically improving the treatment of the mentally ill with a progressive and humane approach.
Rosalind Wyatt was inspired by the work of the Prinzhorn Collection, which was assembled in the beginning of last century and contains 5000 works made by people in psychiatric institutions from all around Europe.
Two amazing jackets, so different and yet so interconnected.
For more information on Rosalind Wyatt’s work, click here.
More images of the Agnes Richter jacket can be seen on LuluBird’s flickr stream.
