Murano – Palazzo
Giustinian: The Museo del Vetro di Murano. The Museo del Vetro di Murano,
re-opens its doors, it has been completely transformed and renovated. The
exhibition spaces have almost doubled, the new displays and themes enable
visitors to discover the key milestones in the history of Murano glass and
enjoy and admire the superb masterpieces the museum conserves. It is the only museum dedicated to artistic glass located
within an active and firmly rooted context of actual production, thanks to the
many furnaces and glassmakers still working on Murano.
Palazzo
Giustinian: The Museo del Vetro di Murano. The impressive entrance on the piano
nobile reveals the sumptuous portego, with an allegorical fresco on the ceiling
by Francesco Zugno. The large room, named after the frequently anonymous
masters of Murano, is the expression of the glassmaking production from the
14th to the end of the 17th century; the golden age of Murano glass. It was in
those years that the skills applied in the Venetian furnaces were acclaimed
throughout Europe thanks to the innovations in technology and techniques: years
in which in Venice, Angelo Barovier produced a pure substance called “crystal”,
to which engraved decoration with diamond-tipped tools was added, and in which
“ice glass” was invented, together with filigree decoration and the “mezza
stampatura” (“half mould”) technique.
Coppa Barovier. Blue blown glass painted cup with polychrome
enamels and gold, with medallions that frame a feminine and a masculine bust
between two scenes that represent a cavalcade and the bath of young women close
to the fountain of love or youth. Venice, 1460c.
Centerpiece.
Centerpiece designed like an Italian garden with fountains, arches, pots
with flowers, flowerbeds. 18th Century. Centerpieces also known as
“deseri” enjoyed enormous popularity during the 18th Century. The glassmaker Giuseppe Briati was credited
with creating many fine examples, which adorned the Doge’s tables. They were proper theater scenes, their
designs often inspired by historical or mythological subjects. Sometimes they offered as this one, a glimpse
of life enjoyed by Venetians on holidays.
The Conterie Room. The conterie were beads of pate de verre
and, in particular from the end of the 19th century, the beads produced from the
so-called paternostreriby
(rosary bead makers) by
cutting a hollow rod and rounding off the little
cylinders produced with heat in ferrazze, or special metal containers. In 1898,
a number of companies involved in the production of glass beads joined forces, setting up a single large
company, Società Veneziana Conterie, which closed in 1993.
The Evolution of Glass
An original “time-wave”, a quick visual guide to the evolution of glass through
the ages,
from Roman times to the 20th century. The display gives an initial introduction to the
world of glass, giving interesting examples of the main milestones in the
history of Murano glass and the technical and aesthetic developments that have
accompanied it.
The Evolution of Glass – The Beginnings
The Evolution of Glass – 13th-17th
Century
The Evolution of Glass – 18th Century
The Evolution of Glass – 19th Century
The Evolution of Glass – 20th Century
Giovanni Rubin de Cervin, Andriana Marcello del Majno and
Brandino Brandolini d’Adda.
A
room is devoted to Modern and Contemporary glass. The room is
dedicated to the memory of Marie Brandolini d’Adda, creator of the famous goti
glasses whom the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia wishes to commemorate as a
non-Italian artist who used Murano glass as her means of expression and thereby
contributed to its international fame.
The Museo del Vetro di
Murano – Luciano Vistosi Scultore Exhibition.
The new modern open space, which offers temporary exhibitions, was
inaugurated with the sculptures of Luciano Vistosi on until May 30th. The selection of black and white objects form
a heartfelt tribute to the late magical sculptor of glass that was the
Murano-born Luciano Vistosi who achieved international success thanks to his
strongly three-dimensional, dynamic, impressive sculptures that capture light.
Franca Coin and Adriana Vistosi widow of the late glass
designer
Luciano Vistosi Scultore
The Museo del Vetro di
Murano – The Garden. The walled-garden of the Museo del Vetro has a view on the
Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato.