Did denim appear 200 years before Levi’s?

The painting "Woman Begging with Two Children," by an unknown artist known as the "Master of Blue Jeans," appears to depict a denim skirt in 17th-century Italy.

The origins of the world’s most popular fabric are disputed, but a new exhibition puts forward a theory that firmly links denim to 17th-century Italy and takes its history back 200 years.

Blue denim, that all-American symbol of informality and outdoor living, has already been controversially attributed to southern France, and modern denim mythology still holds that Levi Strauss, a German immigrant, first came up with the idea of making workwear from this durable cotton in San Francisco 150 years ago..

Now the gallery, run by international fine art dealer Maurizio Canesso, is calling for more research to help establish the identity of the anonymous artist, who specialized in street scenes that often depict poor residents of northern Italy wearing what appears to be blue jeans.

Galerie Canesso, which has showrooms in major European cities and exhibits at London art fairs, will celebrate its 30th anniversary in May with a touring exhibition of large sold works on loan from their owners.

The centerpiece will be "Woman Begging with Two Children," one of ten paintings by an unknown "Master of Blue Jeans" who Canesso believes establishes the fabric’s roots in his native Lombardy.

The painting’s central figure is wearing what appears to be a frayed denim skirt.

“Unfortunately, there are no theories about who the ’Master of Blue Jeans’ was,” said Véronique Damian of Paris’ Canesso gallery, adding that evidence still points to the artist spending most of his career in Lombardy in the late 17th century., although there is reason to believe that he studied in other places.

Six months ago, the nearby coastal city of Genoa, which claims to be the birthplace of jeans (as does the Blue de Gênes denim brand; Genês is the department of the first French Empire in which the city was located), marked its claim with a large exhibition called Genova Jeans. “We are ready to host in Genoa an event that will lead to the rediscovery of one of the world’s most famous textiles and clothing, whose origins are inextricably linked to our city,” said the city’s mayor, Marco Bucci.

This month, Milanese establishment Mudec is presenting its own version of Levi’s history in the form of a free exhibition featuring a pair of jeans worn by a miner in the early 1870s.

Levi’s history dates back to the construction of the North American railroad and the growth of mining and ranching. According to company legend, blue jeans were born on May 20, 1873, when Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis, a tailor from Nevada, received a U.S. patent to install rivets in men’s "work pants." Today, these products represent a $91 billion-a-year industry. Denim trousers came in the famous blue color only later, and until 1960 Levi’s called them "overalls" rather than "jeans."

The French claim that denim originates from the city of Nîmes, where cotton twill fabric made from wool and silk was known as "Serge de Nîmes". According to this version, it was a strong enough fabric for ship sails and sailors’ clothing.

A cultural battle erupts as blue denim reappears in fashion magazines. While it will never go away, some stylists today advise wearing triple denim rather than double denim to show real conviction.

North Korea is the only country where jeans are banned. The lower half of gardener Alan Titchmarsh’s body was blurred out during an episode of his BBC show Garden Confidential set in the communist state due to the subject’s association with America and the "decadent" West.

An exhibition on the history of fabric, “Jeans from the Street to the Ritz,” running until March at Madrid’s Museo del Traie, gave the final word to French designer Yves Saint Laurent. The title of the exhibition is a reference to his 1968 slogan during the student riots in Paris: “Down with the Ritz! Long live the street!”, but at the same time it reflected another of his delightful quotes: “It’s a pity that I didn’t invent blue jeans. They have expression, modesty, sexuality, simplicity - everything I hope for in my clothes.”