The Venice Biennale of the early twentieth century marks an epoch of revolution for Murano glass art, a lens through which to observe the evolution of taste and artistic trends of the period. Between the World Wars, Murano glass began to dominate the Venetian scene, initially through artists who chose it as their medium of expression, and subsequently as the Biennale opened its doors to the decorative arts, placing glass alongside the so-called major arts. It was a time of experimentation and innovation: from the monochrome blown glass inspired by the Renaissance, created by Giacomo Cappellin and Paolo Venini, to the creativity of artists like Hans Stoltenberg Lerche, Vittorio Toso Borella, Vittorio Zecchin, and many others who collaborated with historic Murano glassworks to create unprecedented works.
These years saw the emergence of new types of glass, such as those created under the artistic direction of Napoleone Martinuzzi, or Vittorio Zecchin, with their innovative techniques and sculptural forms, evidence of a constant dialogue between tradition and stylistic research. The focus was as much on overseas research as it was on the desire to define a new visual identity, capable of combining artisanal mastery and artistic vision.
Marino Barovier writes in the introductory essay to the general catalog: “The presence of Murano glass at the Biennale, excluded from the event at its first edition in 1895, is asserted in the following years, especially after the echo of the great modern decorative art exhibition in Turin in 1902. However, it is only starting from the X edition of the Biennale in 1912 that Murano glass is exhibited as an ‘autonomous’ work and officially accepted within the realm of major arts”.
The exhibition catalog, edited by Barovier and Carla Sonego, is the result of in-depth research in the Historical Archive of Contemporary Arts (ASAC) of the Biennale and offers a detailed view of this key period, illustrating with vintage photos and documents what was exhibited, highlighting how this once considered minor art form gained a prominent place in the world of major arts, officially consecrating the artistic value of avant-garde Murano production.
The exhibition represents not only a tribute to the mastery of Murano glass artists but also a real journey into the history of an art that has managed to reinvent itself, becoming a symbol of innovation and beauty, a testament to the inexhaustible creative and experimental capacity of mankind.
