Vittorio Zecchin - Transparent Glass for Cappellin and Venini

A Murano artist and painter interested in the decorative arts, and particularly in glass, Vittorio Zecchin (1878–1947), from 1921 to 1925 and in accordance with a practice not seen in Murano before, occupied the position of artistic director of the V.S.M. Cappellin Venini & C. glassworks, founded in 1921 by the Venetian antiquarian Giacomo Cappellin and the young Milanese lawyer Paolo Venini, together with other shareholders, with the intention of offering a sophisticated, modern style of production. Responding to the demands expressed by Cappellin and Venini, Zecchin designed monochrome blown-glass pieces with extraordinary colours and classical essential lines. Products of this kind, clearly different to anything being offered by their contemporaries and in perfect harmony with the changed public taste, marked a decisive turning point in the 20th-century panorama of Murano and contributed significantly to the renaissance of the sector.

The elegance of the design combined with evocative shades of colour also characterised the glass pieces designed by Zecchin (between 1925 and 1926) for M.V.M. Cappellin & C., where he continued working as artistic director after the association between Giacomo Cappellin and Paolo Venini came to an end in 1925. This volume reconstructs for the first time the entire collection of transparent blown- glass pieces designed by Vittorio Zecchin, first for Cappellin and Venini and then for Cappellin alone. It consists of a sequence of about 900 models (from vases to compote bowls, from table services to chandeliers) which were identified following rigorous research. The work of Zecchin is illustrated both by an extensive set of photographs produced for this occasion and a selection of period photographs and drawings, mostly unpublished.