Tommaso BuzziTurchese e nero, 1932
Tommaso BuzziTurchese e neroV.S.M. Venini & C., 1932Maestri Vetrai Muranesi Cappellin & C., 1932
A turquoise glass bowl with a black conic foot with applied outlined fish.
Fish decor and trim in black glass.
Paper label: Vetri Soffiati Muranesi Venini & C.,
4 1/4 in. high (10.8 cm)
Exhibitions:
1932, Venice, 18th 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:
P. Chiesa, 1932, p. 417;
F. Deboni, 1989, n. 36;
M. Barovier, R. Barovier Mentasti,
A. Dorigato, 1995, n. 28;
F. Deboni, 1996, p. 73;
A. Venini Diaz de Santillana, 1996, n. 51;
Olnick Spanu, 2000, n. 33;
Olnick Spanu, 2001, n. 54.
Tommaso Buzzi 1900–1981
Architect and designer Tommaso Buzzi was born in Sondrio and graduated in Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano. In Milan, he worked in the fields of architecture, interiors, graphic design, set design, and applied arts. In 1927, he joined the association Il Labirinto, founded to "promote the spreading of modern decorative arts in the home," to which Paolo Venini, Giò Ponti, Carla Visconi di Modrone, Emilio Lancia and Pietro Chiesa also belonged. From 1932 to 1934, he was artistic director at Venini & C., for whom he designed a very refined series of works. They were characterized by the elegant Novecento styles in lattimo and opaque turquoise glass with black detailing and clear pieces with branch-like applications. Experimenting with traditional techniques, he also designed vessels and bowls with unusual colors. His best-known series—his Alba, Laguna, and Alga—are known for their pastel tones, which were created by using several successive thin layers of glass and then a final application of gold leaf. After World War II, Buzzi concluded his experience with glass art and dedicated himself to painting.
V.S.M. Venini & C. 1925–1932
In 1925, following the closing of Cappellin Venini & C., Paolo Venini founded his own glass company, which he called Vetri Soffiati Muranesi Venini & C. (V.S.M. Venini & C.). While the company, under the artistic direction of sculptor Napoleone Martinuzzi, produced collections designed by Vittorio Zecchin, it soon became known for the pulegosi, an original style created by Venini and Martinuzzi. In 1932, both Martinuzzi and Zecchin left the company. Paolo Venini changed the name of the company to Venini & C. and Milanese architect Tommaso Buzzi became the new artistic director.
Maestri Vetrai Muranesi Cappellin & C. 1925–1932
M.V.M. Cappellin & C. was founded in 1925 by Giacomo Cappellin after the closing of Cappellin Venini & C. Vittorio Zecchin, a painter from Murano who had worked for Cappellin Venini, continued his collaboration with Cappellin for a short time, designing soffiati, blown glass pieces characterized by delicate colors and pure lines. At the end of 1926, following Zecchin's departure, the young Carlo Scarpa took over the artistic direction of the company. Initially, he proceeded along the course taken by his predecessor, creating lightweight blown pieces with simple geometric forms. These were followed by many collections of refined elegance characterized by various transparent textures and often distinguished by vivid colors. Despite the remarkable success at the 1930 Biennale di Monza, M.V.M. Cappellin & C. was forced to close in January 1932. This was most likely the result of inefficient financial management.
Tommaso BuzziTurchese e nero, 1932
Vittorio ZecchinLibellula, 1921-1925
Vittorio ZecchinLibellulaVetri Soffiati Muranesi Cappellin Venini & C., 1921-1925
Vase in thin blue transparent glass. It is distinguished by its two large handles, which cause it to resemble a dragonfly, hence, its name. After the 1925 closing of V.S.M. Venini & C., the model was included in both the M.V.M. Cappellin & C., (n. 5481) and the V.S.M. Venini & C., (n. 1432) catalogues.
Acid stamped: M.V.M. Cappellin Murano.
7 in. high (17.8 cm)
Exhibitions:
1923, Monza, 1st Esposizione Internazionale delle Arti Decorative;
1924, Venice, 14th 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:
C. Carrà, 1923, p. 67;
R. Linzeler, 1923, p. 84;
R. Papini, 1923;
R. Barovier Mentasti, 1982, n. 253;
Mille anni…, 1982, n. 501;
W. Neuwirth, 1987, n. 110;
F. Deboni, 1989, p. 35;
L’arte del vetro…, 1992, n. 306;
M. Heiremans, 1993, n. 192;
M. Barovier, R. Barovier Mentasti,
A. Dorigato, 1995, n. 15;
M. Barovier, 1999, p. 104;
Olnick Spanu, 2000, n. 11;
Olnick Spanu, 2001, n. 16;
M. Barovier, 2002, n. 123.
Vittorio Zecchin 1878–1947
Painter, decorator, and designer Vittorio Zecchin was the son of a glassblower from Murano. Upon graduating from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, he joined the Secessionist movement of Cà Pesaro where he showed his paintings inspired by the Viennese movement on many occasions. In 1913, in Munich, together with Teodoro Wolf Ferrari, he exhibited glass panels and vessels a murrine made by the Artisti Barovier, which represented the attempt to bring the Secessionist style to Murano glass. From 1921 to 1925, he was artistic director of the Vetri Soffiati Muranesi Cappellin Venini & C., where he created lightweight glass pieces, classically inspired and delicately colored, which earned him immediate success in Italy and abroad. Inspired by the styles painted in the works of sixteenth-century painters in the Veneto, these vessels were the first modern works in Murano glass. After a short period as artistic director of the Maestri Vetrai Muranesi Cappellin & C., he collaborated with S.A.L.I.R. in the '30s, providing drawings for glass engraving and personally decorating glass with enamels. He occasionally worked for Ferro Toso (1930), A.VE.M. (1932), and Seguso Vetri d'Arte (1933-34). At Fratelli Toso (1938), he created the elegant goblets Leggerissimi. During the '20s and '30s, Zecchin also designed tapestries, mosaics, embroidery, ceramics, furniture, silverware, all of which he exhibited at the Biennale di Venezia and the Biennale di Monza. During the last years of his life, he dedicated himself to teaching.
Vetri Soffiati Muranesi Cappellin Venini & C. 1921–1925
Cappellin Venini & C. was founded in 1921 after the meeting of the Venetians Giacomo Cappellin and Luigi Ceresa, the Milanese Paolo Venini, and the German-born Emilio Ochs. It first settled in the furnace abandoned by Andrea Rioda. Rioda had died prematurely, leaving the technical direction of his company to Giovanni Seguso, better known to some as Patare. Under the artistic direction of Vittorio Zecchin, Cappellin Venini & C. produced collections characterized by essential forms, some of which were inspired by the Renaissance glass pieces reproduced by sixteenth-century painters in the Veneto region. The company received widespread acclaim at the major exhibitions of decorative arts of the '20s such as the Biennale di Monza (1923, 1925), the Biennale di Venezia (1924), and the Paris Exposition (1925). Cappellin and Venini separated due to irreconcilable differences, and the company was closed in May of 1925. Subsequently, Paolo Venini and Ochs took the furnace and created a new company named Vetri Soffiati Muranesi Venini & C. Giacomo Cappellin took the glassblowers and Vittorio Zecchin with him and founded a new company with a new furnace: the Maestri Vetrai Muranesi Cappellin & C.
Vittorio ZecchinLibellula, 1921-1925
Tommaso BuzziTurchese e nero, 1932
Tommaso BuzziTurchese e neroV.S.M. Venini & C., 1932
Footed plate in turquoise glass with conical foot in black pasta vitrea.
Acid stamped:
venini murano.
2 3/4 in. high (7 cm)
Ø; 17 5/16 in. (44 cm)
Exhibitions:
1932, Venice, 18th Biennale Internazionale d’Arte;
2001, Milan, Murano: Vetri dalla Collezione Olnick Spanu,
Spazio Oberdan.
Bibliography and comparative texts:
Venini, blue catalogue, n. 3261;
Domus, 1932, July, p. 417;
F. Deboni, 1989, n. 37;
M. Romanelli, 2000, p. 78;
Venini. Catalogo…, 2000, p. 126, nn. 77-78;
Olnick Spanu, 2001, n. 55.
Tommaso Buzzi 1900–1981
Architect and designer Tommaso Buzzi was born in Sondrio and graduated in Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano. In Milan, he worked in the fields of architecture, interiors, graphic design, set design, and applied arts. In 1927, he joined the association Il Labirinto, founded to "promote the spreading of modern decorative arts in the home," to which Paolo Venini, Giò Ponti, Carla Visconi di Modrone, Emilio Lancia and Pietro Chiesa also belonged. From 1932 to 1934, he was artistic director at Venini & C., for whom he designed a very refined series of works. They were characterized by the elegant Novecento styles in lattimo and opaque turquoise glass with black detailing and clear pieces with branch-like applications. Experimenting with traditional techniques, he also designed vessels and bowls with unusual colors. His best-known series—his Alba, Laguna, and Alga—are known for their pastel tones, which were created by using several successive thin layers of glass and then a final application of gold leaf. After World War II, Buzzi concluded his experience with glass art and dedicated himself to painting.
V.S.M. Venini & C. 1925–1932
In 1925, following the closing of Cappellin Venini & C., Paolo Venini founded his own glass company, which he called Vetri Soffiati Muranesi Venini & C. (V.S.M. Venini & C.). While the company, under the artistic direction of sculptor Napoleone Martinuzzi, produced collections designed by Vittorio Zecchin, it soon became known for the pulegosi, an original style created by Venini and Martinuzzi. In 1932, both Martinuzzi and Zecchin left the company. Paolo Venini changed the name of the company to Venini & C. and Milanese architect Tommaso Buzzi became the new artistic director.
Tommaso BuzziTurchese e nero, 1932
Vetreria Artistica BarovierArtistica Trasparente, 1927
Artistica TrasparenteVetreria Artistica Barovier, 1927
Vessel in blue transparent glass with a conical foot and small circular handles.
10 3/4 in. high. (27.5 cm)
Exhibitions:
2001, Milan, Murano: Vetri dalla Collezione Olnick Spanu,
Spazio Oberdan.
Bibliography and comparative texts:
M. Barovier, 1993, p. 21;
Olnick Spanu, 2001, n. 17.
Vetreria Artistica Barovier 1919–1936
In 1919, Artisti Barovier changed its name 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. In 1926, Ercole and Nicolò Barovier took over the management of the company and both became artistic directors, creating, among other things, sophisticated multicolored vessels a murrine and singular animals in blown glass. After 1932, Nicolò and Ercole Barovier became sole proprietors of the company. Ercole designed many objects that earned the company remarkable success, among them the Primavera series. A tireless creator of new collections and glass textures, Ercole Barovier dedicated himself to perfecting the colorazione a caldo senza fusione, which he began using during the second half of the '30s. In 1936, after the separation from his brother Nicolò, Ercole Barovier became partner of the S.A.I.A.R. Ferro Toso, forming Ferro Toso e Barovier.
Vetreria Artistica BarovierArtistica Trasparente, 1927
Tommaso BuzziAlba, 1933
Tommaso BuzziAlbaV.S.M. Venini & C., 1933
A footed pitcher in light blue alba glass, cased with several layers of colored glass, incamiciato.
Heart-shaped mouth. Foot and prunted collar in cristallo glass.
The whole pitcher decorated with gold leaf applications.
6 1/2 in. high (16.5 cm)
Exhibitions:
1933, Milan, 5th Triennale;
2000, New York, Venetian Glass, Museum of Arts & Design;
2001, Milan, Murano: Vetri dalla Collezione Olnick Spanu,
Spazio Oberdan.
Bibliography and comparative texts:
Venini blue catalogue, n. 3464;
R. Aloi, 1955 p. 27;
Mille anni…, 1982, n. 527;
F. Deboni, 1989, n. 38;
R. Barovier Mentasti 1992, n. 57;
A. Venini Diaz de Santillana, 1996, nn. 53, 55;
R. Barovier Mentasti, 1998, nn. 52, 54;
M. Barovier, 1999, p. 161;
Olnick Spanu, 2000, n. 35;
Olnick Spanu, 2001, n. 56.
Tommaso Buzzi 1900–1981
Architect and designer Tommaso Buzzi was born in Sondrio and graduated in Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano. In Milan, he worked in the fields of architecture, interiors, graphic design, set design, and applied arts. In 1927, he joined the association Il Labirinto, founded to "promote the spreading of modern decorative arts in the home," to which Paolo Venini, Giò Ponti, Carla Visconi di Modrone, Emilio Lancia and Pietro Chiesa also belonged. From 1932 to 1934, he was artistic director at Venini & C., for whom he designed a very refined series of works. They were characterized by the elegant Novecento styles in lattimo and opaque turquoise glass with black detailing and clear pieces with branch-like applications. Experimenting with traditional techniques, he also designed vessels and bowls with unusual colors. His best-known series—his Alba, Laguna, and Alga—are known for their pastel tones, which were created by using several successive thin layers of glass and then a final application of gold leaf. After World War II, Buzzi concluded his experience with glass art and dedicated himself to painting.
V.S.M. Venini & C. 1925–1932
In 1925, following the closing of Cappellin Venini & C., Paolo Venini founded his own glass company, which he called Vetri Soffiati Muranesi Venini & C. (V.S.M. Venini & C.). While the company, under the artistic direction of sculptor Napoleone Martinuzzi, produced collections designed by Vittorio Zecchin, it soon became known for the pulegosi, an original style created by Venini and Martinuzzi. In 1932, both Martinuzzi and Zecchin left the company. Paolo Venini changed the name of the company to Venini & C. and Milanese architect Tommaso Buzzi became the new artistic director.