ITALIAN CERAMICS FROM MIDDLE AGE TO THE PRESENT

Inside the ovoid body jug is painted a scene representing a woman who rides a crawling bend man. It is the legend of “Aristotle and Fillide”, a clear reference to the courtly them.

This decoration, beside showing a precious images of the customs of the epoch, is part of the “italo-moresco” style which joins in a unique pattern the Moresque and the Western traditions.

The “wrapped” leaf decoration originates from the gothic architecture and it is also called “gattone” (big cat), for its rampant cat shape

The dish has a narrow well and a wide rim, it is decorated with the flowering palm” of Galeotto Manfredi, lord of Faenza, together with the emblem of Saint John the evangelist.

In the Renaissance the majolica of Faenza definitively leaves the gothic and oriental decorative motifs. The charming ladies painted on majolica were brides, portrayed on the bridegroom’s commission to celebrate their union.

The “graffita” (engraved ceramic) production in Faenza started at the end of the 14th century, even if in a limited production compared to the majolica one.

The little sculpture represents the “Judgment of Paris”. The five characters of the sculpture are grouped around a fountain with a column (to keep the ink) and an hexagonal basin (tool post).

In the 16th century the diffusion of the Chinese porcelain and the numerous contacts with the far East, influenced the potters in Faenza who produced a new decoration called “porcelain style”

Around the medallion elegant foliated scrolls are painted in a blue “berettino” glaze that recalls the taste of the epoch in fashion especially in Venice.

The scene is inspired by a well known engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi. The author is Baldassarre Manara, leading figure in the “istoriato” style in Faenza.

The “istoriato” painting has been attributed to Nicolò da Fano, a majolica painter from Marche region who, around the half of the 16th century, was working at the Virgiliotto Calamelli workshop.

The work is an excellent example of the changing trends concerning the painting on majolica that, beside the tradition of the colored “istoriato” represented the so called “revolution of the white”

The character in the middle may be the legendary hero Marco Curzio, painted in a “compendiario” style. In the middle of the foot the signature of the Virgiliotto Calamelli’s workshop is visible.

The creation of this precious salts for the sumptuous table of rich commitments was inspired by the art of the precious metals, in particular by the silver objects.

The well-known “white” vessels were on fashion and required by the nobles of the age, they wished to celebrate their rank through the refined majolica called “faïence” all over Europe.

It is called “love vessels”, a typical production of the Renaissance that portrayed the image of the sweetheart. The decoration, typical of Faenza and of central Italy, was produced for all the 1500.

The outstanding refresher in the shape of a moulded ship is characterized by the typical blue lapis lazuli glaze (light blue majolica), created in the Castelli workshops in the late 16th century.

The decorative function of these works which decorated the houses of the epoch was enhanced by the precious metallic lustre decoration. In the centre San Girolamo penitent is portrayed.

The Master Giorgio Andreaoli’s workshop marked the ceramic art production in Gubbio during the first half of the 16th century, they were specialized in the production of gold lustre and ruby red glaze over majolica.

The cup portrays, overall the surface, “Camillo”, as written in the inscription which is unusual and rare in the male portraiture, dressed with Renaissance clothes.

Nicola of Gabriele Sbraghe, called Nicola from Urbino, was one of the best painters of “Raphaelesque” decorations on majolica.

The importance of this cup consists on the presence of the date “1529” and of the mark of the Maestro Giorgio “da Ugubio” workshop where the majolica was painted with lustre glaze.

The religious subjects constitute, together with the classical and mythological ones, one of the most important narrative components in the 16th century.

The work emblematically represents the high qualitative level of the workshops in Urbino and, in particular, of Antonio Patanazzi’s production in the late 16th century.

This ornamental motif characterized by thin vegetal patterns of Moresque taste, was one of the most successful decoration in the Tuscan ceramic repertoires at the end of the 15th century

It is supposed to be painted around 1515, when the Pope spent a shot time in the Medici’s Villa in Cafaggiolo, beside the majolica workshop, where this outstanding work was made.

The fascination of the mysterious Oriental porcelains and the wish to posses exclusive works persuaded the Grand Duke Francesco Maria de’ Medici to establish his own ceramic workshop in Florence.

The original container in the shape of an owl, in the Caltagirone dialect called “cucca”, represents a peculiar production of Caltagirone ceramics influenced by the Arabic culture.

The scene inspired to a graphic version of the well-known painting by Annibale Carracci “The beans eater", is proposed through the original figurative Apulian language without perspective effects.

This devotional plaque is an interesting exemplar of the high level of quality of the “compendiario”(compendium style) production in Castelli in the 17th century.

This work is part of a series of big amphorae coming from Barberini Palace in Roma and was realized in Urbania, the town of ancient ceramic tradition in Marche that until 1636 was named Casteldurante

. The very refined “Raphaelesque” majolica produced in the Renaissance were substituted in the 16th century by less refined imitations with a more popular taste.

This dish is part of the 17th century successful decorative series commonly called “harlequins”. Being inspired by the popular characters of the “commedia dell’arte” they was createdby Montelupo potters.

Influenced by the artefacts coming imported from the Orient, the Ligurian potters created the so-called “tapestry” decoration, a term referring to the symmetrical position of the ornamental motifs

Due to its excellent artistic quality it is included in the pictorial genre called “Castellan-Neapolitan style” from the collaboration among artists from Abruzzo and Campania

Francesco Antonio Saverio determined a creative and fully original renewal of the “istoriato” painting. He painted the vases with representations rich with particulars. the vase was part of the “Certosa di Capri” set

Around in the middle of the 18th century the tecnique of “low firing” tried to enhance the palette of colours and apply the precious tone of the gold and purple red over the majolica.

The oriental world offered to the Ferniani manufacture a rich decorative contest to interpret in an occidental way. In this way it was born of the most popular motif of the majolica in Faenza: the “garofano”

The majolica became more precious thanks to the images of ancients architectonical ruins. This as represented in the “impagliata”, or table set for the woman who has just given birth.

Filippo Comerio (1747 – 1827) was a very versatile Lombard painter, he worked in Faenza from the end of 1776 to 1781, where collaborated with the Ferniani manufacture creating excellent and incomparable majolica works

The dish represents one of the best known oriental style motifs (“chinoiserie”) of the Antonibon manufacture production: the “ponticello” (little bridge) decoration.

The production of sculptural groups intensely characterized the first activity of the Ginori manufacture who distinguished himself for the will to re-create statues in the Greek and Roman classical style, made of porcelain.

In the last quarter of the 18th century the Ferniani manufacture, beside the rich majolica creations, started a new production using the white earthenware

In the 18th century a new ceramic material was introduced from England: the creamware. The trend established by this new product, inclined to imitate the porcelain, immediately conquered Europe

Achille Farina (1804 – 1879), an extraordinary artist, was the master of the lively creative “ceramic painting” tendency in Faenza

Founded by Ulisse Cantagalli around in 1880, the namesake manufacture emerged thanks to a production inspired to the greatest ceramic tradition of the 16th century.

Pio Fabri, a Roman ceramist, devoted his production to recover and update the ancient decorative techniques.

In the 20th century the ceramics was fully interpreted by the art Nouveau that enhanced the combination “art and creativity” in the handicraft, eliminating the obsolete hierarchy of the arts thanks to high quality works from an artistic and technical point of view.

This amazing work shows a full deco style; it is made up of twenty-five elements and was created following the success the artist obtained in 1925 at the International Exposition of decorative and industrial modern arts in Paris (where obtained the silver medal).

He was an extraordinary artist, promoter of the Circle dedicated to him, he was a painter, sculptor, skilled drawer, engraver. This “vase” is a true sculpture with a symbolist influence reflecting the age.

The artist had a versatile personality, he embodied the figure of the true artist, emblematic representative of the modernity and of a new and decisive artist-designer’s role, also in the field of architecture and industry

In 1906 the brother Chini, Galileo and Chino, founded the manufacture “Fornaci San Lorenzo” in Borgo San Lorenzo. The production was characterized by decorations inspired to refined and elegant floral and zoomorphic. motifs

Pietro Melandri was well-known for the third firing technique, refined between 1922 and 1931, at the workshop he managed in collaboration with Focaccia

Cambellotti believed that ceramics represented above all a popular and widespread craft for everyday objects, usually with recurring themes borrowed from the rural world.

In the Twenties Eugenio Colmo,painter, graphic, illustrator, journalist, stylist and humorist, started to create ceramics preferring porcelain and cream-ware materials for his elegant Deco works.

Martini is considered one of the great exponents of the evolution of twentieth-century Italian sculpture into a modern style. The renewal of the sculpture coincides with the artist’s study and love for the great masters of the past

A precursor of today's 'industrial designers', he designed, thanks to his lively creativity, ceramics for serial production which ensured the introduction onto the market of new prototypes for objects for everyday use

His ceramics or “ornaments”, as he used to describe them, are unique pieces created through a completely new process, free and independent far from the standard production system.

From 1928 to 1929 Faenza was the scene of the Futurist experience. Marinetti himself created the first plate representing the movement at the “Bottega Gatti”.

In 1937 he moved to Laveno to collaborate with Guido Andlovitz at the “Società Ceramica Italiana” to create new models for the serial production of sculptures, such as the well-known “Atteone”, a garden work

The artist winner of five Faenza Prizes (1947, 1948, 1949, 1959, 1960) created this panel entitled “Internal Front” during the difficult years of the Second World War following propagandistic aims.

Melotti’s ceramic experience it was characterized by light majolica sheets, which can be paradoxically considered almost diaphanous, glazed with iridescent and metallic colours.

Bucci developed an important ceramic experience at Calzi’s workshop between 1918 and 1919. His production was tied to a very detailed research on technical, formal and pictorial characteristics of ceramics.

Leoncillo was the real great protagonist and innovator of the Italian ceramic sculpture in the Post War period. This work represents the artist’s post-cubist period that precedes the later “informal” period.

Starting from the Fifties Matteucci experimented the informal art using different material and reaching smooth sculptural results.

Painter, sculptor and ceramist Nanni Valentini was one of the supporter of the revolution that upset the modern conception of the ceramic sculpture in the Sixties.He was a real intellectual who wrote very important pages devoted to the sculpture and to the ceramic material.

In Faenza he was a pupil of Angelo Biancini. He started his first experimentation with the stoneware after his discovery of Picasso’s works exhibited at the Museum.

He was very skilful in the experimentations: his abstract works made in porcelain-stoneware together with the great plates decorated with subjects inspired to Picasso and Matisse

He was a true talent who died too early, he characterized his career with the constant research of new motivations, experimenting different contemporary art languages.

His creations are enhanced by what he called “psychologically significant images” which made his work “more and more a medicine for me and, luckily also for the others”.

In the Nineties in Faenza he started a collaboration, together with his son Andrea, with the Gatti workshop, giving birth to a series of ceramic figures inspired to the “Furious Orland”.

Heir of Martini, Fontana and Valentini’s poetics, Cerone was a great interpreter of contemporary sculpture where he joined different materials following a continuous experimentation.