VENETIANS CALLED THIS PLACE “The House of the Magician.” It’s where Mariano Fortuny, who became world famous for his outrageously gorgeous fabrics, gowns, and lamps, set up his home and workshop in 1907. There was a woman behind his success: Henriette Negrin, who he met in Paris in 1897, when she was a French widow, a model and a seamstress. She became his muse, collaborator, and wife—after they lived together for twenty-two years. You’ll see Fortuny’s paintings of Henriette here—some nude, others of her dressed elegantly with her hair swept up, along with photographs of their trips to Greece and Egypt, where Fortuny got lots of inspiration.

In the museum where they once lived and worked together, you enter the world of this eccentric, twentieth-century Renaissance man. Fortuny was born in Granada in 1871, to both a father and grandfather (on his mother’s side) who were highly acclaimed painters in Spain. His father died when he was three, so his mother took him to live in Paris, and also traveled about, until they finally settled in Venice, because Fortuny was horribly allergic to horses, and this was the only place around without carriages.

After his early artistic endeavors in painting and photography and success in designing sets and lighting for theater, Fortuny, at thirty-six years old, began his work on printed fabrics here with Henriette. He’d already had an attic studio in the Gothic palazzo and then bought the building that had been cut up into apartments and gutted it, turning it into a free-flowing creative space.

The walls of the first floor’s large rectangular room are covered with Fortuny’s patterned fabrics, creating a warm, exotic, colorful ambience. His paintings and lamps surround displays of his models for theatre sets, and his gowns that were worn by such illustrious women as Eleanora Duse, Sarah Bernhardt, and Isadora Duncan.

Fortuny broke into the woman’s fashion world in 1907 with his Delphos gown, inspired by tunics from ancient Greek statuary. It was simple and finely pleated, in soft, shimmering colors. Women happily tore off their corsets to put on the sensational dress that elegantly draped their bodies. He packaged it rolled up in a hatbox, so it was easy and light for travel.

On the second floor of the museum is Fortuny’s library and personal workshop, where you’ll get a hit of the practical side of this free-spirited artist. It’s packed with volumes of books about artists who came before him, lots of journals where he catalogued designs and colors, his paints and tools. Fortuny’s preferred entrance to this palazzo was climbing through the skylight, straight into this workshop.

Depending on what is being exhibited, you may get to see the expansive top floor of the building. The views from here, through the wavy glass windows, are some of the best in Venice: red roofs, church tops, the ever-changing sky…it’s marvelous to imagine how he was inspired here.

Fortuny’s fabric designs, of intricate swirls, animals, and geometric prints, clearly show his influences from Spain and travels to Greece and farther east. But ultimately, they’re completely Venetian, reflecting the cultural melting pot of the city, with rich colors muted by the city’s fog, or glistening in gold or silver sunlight. He was called “the magician” because nobody could figure out exactly how he produced these fabrics, and his techniques are still kept secret.

You’ll be so tempted to reach out and touch them in the museum, but you can’t. For a tactile experience, head to the Fortuny Showroom on Giudecca, or one of the Venetia Studium stores in Venice, where you can buy a Fortuny-inspired scarf, pillow, purse, or lamp, to keep a little bit of the Venetian magician in your life.

Palazzo Fortuny Museum: Campo San Beneto (San Marco), 10-6, closed Tuesday (www.fortuny.visitmuve.it)

Showroom: Fortuny SPA, Giudecca 805, 041 528 7697 (www.fortuny.com) Call for an appointment and ask to see the newly designed Countess Gozzi gardens out back. The showroom is next to Hilton Molino Stucky, which has a great terrace to stop for a cocktail and enjoy the view of the Venice mainland.

Venetia Studium Stores: San Marco 2403, Calle Larga XXII and in Dorsoduro 180/A, near Punta della Dogana (www.venetiastudium.com)

Golden Day: Visit the Palazzo Fortuny and have lunch at the elegant Acqua Pazza, serving excellent seafood, cooked in the southern Amalfi Coast style, with Campania wines to match. (Campo Sant’Angelo, San Marco, 041 277 0688, noon-3, 7-11, closed Monday, www.veniceacquapazza.com)

TIP: If you’d like to see more Venetian textile treasures, head to the Bevilacqua family shops for gorgeous velevets and brocades. (Fondamenta Cononica, San Marco and Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, www.bevilacquatessuti.com)