Benvenuto Barovier 1855–1932

Maestro and designer Benvenuto Barovier first worked as a glassblower for a company called Compagnia di Venezia e Murano (C.V.M.) where he was noted for his remarkable manual skills. In 1877, he and his brother Giuseppe were invited by Antonio Salviati to collaborate in his new furnace called Salviati dott. Antonio. When Salviati retired from the business of production in 1883, Benvenuto and Giuseppe bought the company where they worked as glassblowers and designers, eventually renaming it Artisti Barovier after Salviati’s death in 1890. Among Benvenuto’s many creations are some extraordinary pieces made in mosaico glass. Apart from the significant technical quality of these objects, one can perceive the passionate experimentation carried out by the maestro from Murano, who frequently used crushed glass to decorate his pieces. He and his brother received widespread critical acclaim at several exhibitions that took place at Cà Pesaro. After the transformation of the company into Vetreria Artistica Barovier & C. (1919), Benvenuto Barovier continued to participate actively in the furnace.

Photograph by Luca Vignelli
Floreale a murrine
Artisti Barovier, 1913-1914
Information
Photograph by Luca Vignelli

Benvenuto Barovier Floreale a murrineArtisti Barovier, 1913-1914

Vetro mosaico vase composed of multicolored patches of translucent glass tessere set to form a floral pattern. Several vases in vetro mosaico were presented by the Artisti Barovier at the Ca’ Pesaro show in 1913. At this exhibition the Artisti Barovier shared a room, dedicated exclusively to glass, with the painter Vittorio Zecchin, who also designed vessels and tiles using the murrine technique.
Signed with a glass murrina bearing the initials AB, above which rises a crown.
7 7/8 in. high (20 cm)

Exhibitions:
1913, Venice, Ca’ Pesaro
(?);
1914, Venice, 11th Biennale Internazionale d’Arte (?);
2000, New York, Venetian Glass, Museum of Arts & Design;
2001, Milan, Murano: Vetri dalla Collezione Olnick Spanu,
Spazio Oberdan.

Bibliography and comparative texts:
Catalogue of the Esposizione di Estate, 1920, p. 1;
M. Barovier, 1993, nn. 32, 48;
M. Barovier, R. Barovier Mentasti,
A. Dorigato 1995, n. 9;
M. Heiremans, 1996, n. 5;
R. Reif, New York Times, 2000, p. 39;
Olnick Spanu, 2000, n. 1;
Olnick Spanu, 2001, n. 3.

Workshop
Photograph by Luca Vignelli

Artisti Barovier  1890–1919

Giovanni Barovier and his nephews Giuseppe, Benvenuto, and Benedetto worked as glassblowers at the Salviati dott. Antonio furnace, founded in 1877. In 1884, after Salviati's departure, they acquired ownership of the company. On the basis of an agreement signed with Salviati, the company maintained its original name until Salviati's death in 1890. It then changed its name to Artisti Barovier.

Under the guidance of Benvenuto and Giuseppe, the company reproduced the classical themes of nineteenth-century glass and soon achieved fame for the refinement of its production. Works executed later, particularly a murrine, were inspired by floral themes. The Artisti Barovier took several of these pieces to different exhibitions, including the Cà Pesaro (1908, 1909, 1913), where pieces designed by Zecchin and Wolf-Ferrari were also shown. During World War I, the furnace was temporarily moved to Livorno in Tuscany.

In 1919, the company name was changed to Vetreria Artistica Barovier and several new partners were added. Among them were Ercole Barovier and Nicolò Barovier, Benvenuto Barovier's sons, and Giuseppe Barovier's son Napoleone.

Floreale a murrine
Artisti Barovier, 1913-1914