Introduction
Venice, and more specifically, the island of Murano, is renowned for its stunning handmade glass. The local glassmaking industry has been active for centuries, and while many companies throughout the world mass-produce glass pieces, Venice stays true to its roots. Its handmade glass is innovative, creative, and artistic, and there is much the rest of the world can learn from the artisans who work there
What is Handmade Glass?
Handmade glass is so called because it is created manually without the use of machinery. The individuals who create this type of glass are skilled artisans and artists who have devoted years to mastering their craft. Every piece is unique, shaped by expert hands and traditional techniques such as glassblowing, casting, and flameworking.
The priority with factory-made glass is quantity, while handmade glass emphasizes quality and craftsmanship. It often has complex, detailed patterns and vivid colors, which highlight its legitimacy.
History of Venetian Glass
Ancient Times
The first records of glassmaking go back to the 4th century BC, when functional glass was produced in Egypt and Mesopotamia. In the first century BC, the Syrians invented glassblowing and created artistic pieces of glass, such as vases, bowls, and drinking glasses. They exported their products throughout the Roman Empire, and it wasn’t long before the Romans were creating their own glass using the glassblowing technique. They showed their skill by the delicate and intricate patterns they created to decorate their glass objects. Glassware from the late Roman era has been unearthed in the Venice area, and some have been created using classic techniques that are still inuse, thousands of years later, such as millefiori. They look surprisingly like the glass made today.
The Middle Ages – The Rediscovery of Handmade Glass in Venice
When the Roman Empire collapsed, glassmaking declined, and a dark period followed. However, it was revived in Venice in the Middle Ages and linked initially with mosaics, which were widely used across the city. Soon, glassmakers started to make glass bowls, vases, and drinking vessels. By the 1220s, glassmakers had been organized into guilds, and in 1291, glassmaking was moved to Murano, a cluster of islands in the Venetian lagoon. There were two reasons for this: the first being to prevent fires from breaking out in Venice. Most importantly, however, it was to keep the secrets of Venetian glassmaking confined. Trade secrets were being leaked throughout Europe, and the Republic decided to stop this. It wanted to hold the monopoly on glassmaking in Europe, and the artisans weren’t even allowed to leave Murano. However, for this, they received many privileges, such as long summer breaks when it was too hot to work and high wages. Their daughters were even allowed to marry noblemen.
The Renaissance – The Evolution of the Craft
The Renaissance was a pivotal period in Venetian glassmaking, marked by the development of many new techniques and the revival of old ones. Venetian glassmaking flourished during this period. Beautiful glass vessels and decorative pieces were extremely popular and often exported to other countries or given as royal gifts to kings and foreign dignitaries. There was an emphasis on mixing artistic glass with functionality, that is, beautiful glass that can also be used.
During the 15th century, glassmakers in Murano created innovative techniques that were far advanced for their time. Around 1450, Angelo Barovier invented Cristallo, an almost transparent glass which is thought to be the best glass in the world. It got its name because it looks like rock crystal. A key ingredient is manganese dioxide, which is a decolorizing agent that removes any remaining traces of color. This type of handmade glass is difficult to cut, but it can still be enameled and engraved
Barovier also created Chalcedony, marble glass that looks like the semi-precious stone of the same name. Barovier is considered to be one of Murano’s greatest glassmakers, and, as well as these techniques, he also revived glass engraving.
A technique created in the 17th century was Lattimo, a milk-colored glass which looks like porcelain, and Avventurina, which is a translucent glass with metallic specks usually made of copper.
Murano also became famous for its stunning mirrors, which artisans started making in the early 1500s. Mirror makers were even given their own guild in 1569. These mirrors were particularly known for the artwork on the glass frames. It took great skill on the part of the artisans to produce them, and the price of the mirrors reflected this. They were mainly commissioned by the nobility and royalty to adorn their palace walls.
The Decline and Revival of Venetian Glassmaking
In 1612, a Florentine priest called Antonio Neri published a book, ‘L’Arte Vetraria’, which translates to ‘The Art of Glass’. In it, he disclosed the secrets of Venetian glass production. By the end of the century, the Venetian Republic was unable to cling to its monopoly of the luxury glass trade. Other countries began to lure skilled Murano artisans away from the island, but due to problems sourcing the correct materials, the quality of the glass was generally lower.
The Venetian Republic came to an end in 1797 when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Venice. Some Murano glass techniques were forgotten during this time of decline, and extortionate tariffs and taxes made it unprofitable to create glass on the island. Napoleon closed down the glass factories in 1807, although simple glassmaking and beading did still go on. However, some artisans tried to keep Venetian handmade glass alive, and in the mid-1800s, there was renewed interest in Murano glass, which has continued to grow. Around the mid-1860s, local leaders, such as the mayor of Murano, Antonio Colleoni, and Vincenzo Zanetti, the founder of the Murano Glass Museum, together with glass artisans, such as the Fratelli Toso and Antonio Salviati, reinvented centuries-old techniques for making glass.
In the 1900s, the Murano Glass industry continued to evolve and innovate. It is during these years, especially the second half of the 20th century, that Murano Glass became its own widely recognized art form. Today, the island of Murano is once again the center of the glassmaking industry. The range of glassware is enormous. There are wine glasses, vases, bowls, candlesticks, miniature figurines, and large sculptures, as well as both classic and modern chandeliers.
Art Glass in the World’s Top Museums
In the ultimate form of recognition, many museums throughout the world now showcase art glass. If you really want to discover everything about Murano glass, the best place to go is the Museo del Vetro, or the Glass Museum on the island of Murano. Here you will be able to see glass from Ancient times to the present day, including work by Barovier & Toso and glass textiles which were designed by Carlo Scarpa in the 1930s.
Another museum to visit if you are interested in the history and evolution of handmade glass is the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. It is dedicated to handmade glassware of all kinds, housing around 55,000 pieces, including many from Murano. The museum covers 35 centuries of glassmaking, giving you a good sense of how glass craftsmanship has changed through the ages. You can see glassmaking demonstrations and even make your own glass.
Other museums that house art glass and handmade glass, with many pieces from Murano, include the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington. In the UK, the Victoria and Albert Museum is home to one of the largest glass collections in the world, showcasing 3,500 years of glassmaking, including many pieces dating back to the Italian Renaissance.
Prominent Glass Masters of the 20th Century
Venetian glass is very much alive today due to the work of master artisans who have kept the craft alive and have created even more techniques.
Carlo Scarpa
Carlo Scarpa (1906 – 1978) was an architect and designer. He graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice in 1926 and went to work at M.V.M. Cappellin Glassworks. Not much is known about his stay there, but it gave him the experience to join Venini Glassworks in 1932 as an artistic director.
Scarpa stayed at Venini for 15 years. He pioneered new techniques and revived older ones using modern methods such as Mezza Filigrana, first developed in the 16th century. For this, he produced very thin glass decorated with internal swirling lines, created when the glass is hot. Murrine was originally invented in Ancient Rome. Scarpa developed Murrine Romane, which combined the traditional round Murrine patterns with the square tiles used in ancient mosaics. His Murrine Opache series is stunning. It has an opaque look, with a smooth and matte surface, created by grinding the glass. This design is often used to create intricate patterns and shapes.
Scarpa left glassmaking in 1947 to become an architect. He never returned to working with glass, but Venini still reproduces some of his glass pieces. In 2013, the Metropolitan Museum of Art held an exhibition of Venetian Glass by Carlo Scarpa from his time with Venini.
Paolo Venini
Paolo Venini (1895 – 1959) is one of the most renowned glass artisans of all time. He was born in Milan and studied law, but changed his course when he met glassmaker Giacomo Cappellin. In 1921, they opened their first glass factory together, but they parted ways in 1925. Venini formed his own company despite Cappellin taking many of their glass masters with him. Venini, instead, employed artisans from all over the world to create limited editions.
Venini was known for different styles. He became famous for his eccentric and modern designs, but he also produced elegant tableware, way ahead of its time. They were stunningly simple, but were set off by unusual combinations of bold colors, threads, lattices, and sometimes millefiori. Critics were particularly impressed with his translucent, boldly-striped lampshades.
Venini employed many designers, but he also created pieces himself, such as the Fazzoletto series (the handkerchief series). These pieces are shaped like loosely falling handkerchiefs, appear light and impulsive, yet are the result of precise workmanship.
Napoleone Martinuzzi
Napoleone Martinuzzi (1892 – 1977) came from a family of Murano glass artisans. He studied sculpture at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice and in Rome. In 1921, he created enamel-painted glasses, and in 1924, a glass window on behalf of Gabriele D’Annunzio, Italian poet, playwright, and political leader.
In 1925, Martinuzzi joined Venini’s company as a partner and artistic director. Here, he created pulegoso glass, a type of glass that has many bubbles, giving it a sponge-like appearance. It is produced by adding bicarbonate of soda or petroleum to the molten glass, which gives the bubbles. This was often used to make decorative handmade cacti and rubber plants. An impressive piece he created was a 250-meter (820-feet) high cactus for the post office in Bergamo, Italy.
In 1932, Martinuzzi formed a company with Francesco Zecchin, employing two master glass artisans, Otello Nason and Alfredo Barbini. Martinuzzi’s designs were received with critical acclaim. He took part in many international cultural festivals, including 13 Venice Biennales between 1920 and 1950, the 1930 Monza Triennale, and the 1933 Milan Triennale.
In 1936, Martinuzzi left the company to become a sculptor, but he was appointed art director of Alberto Seguso’s Arte del Vetro Glassworks in 1947. Until 1958, he designed glass lamps and tiles for Gino Cenedese, a prominent glassmaker, and various products for Alfredo Barbini from the 1960s until the 1980s.
Final Thoughts
Venice, and Murano in particular, has taught and is still teaching the world about handmade glass. It has a rich history, which has brought original and experimental techniques to the forefront of the glass industry. Exquisite pieces continue to be created that reflect traditions, but often have modern twists. Venetian glass represents imagination and luxuriousness throughout the world.