Leseprobe

ERCOLE BAROVIER – Glass master of the 20 th century Ercole Barovier is descended fromone of the oldest andmost respected glass families onMurano, whose roots go back as far as the fourteenth century. Although he studiedmedicine, hewas destined to become one of themost prominent protagonists of the island’s art glass output in the twentieth century. Through- out his long career as both the general manager and artistic director of the Barovier &Toso glass factory, he contributed significantly to the factory’s fame. In close collaboration with his master glassblowers in front of the furnace, he empirically developedmany of the innovative techniques for which he constantly drew new forms. 1 Barovier & Toso—as it is known today—emerged in 1877, when several members of the Barovier family were working as master glassblowers in the newly founded furnaces of Antonio Salviati (1816–1890). In 1883, Salviati decided to concentrate on his retail business. He sold his glass-making materials to the Baroviers and leased his premises to them in exchange for exclusive rights to their production, including their innovations. The Baroviers entered into partnership with the technician Antonio Camozzo and founded Artisti Barovier. During the first world war, their official headquarters was temporarily moved to Livorno. The actual productionwas carried out on government premises in Sarzana, which they shared with Fratelli Toso and Andrea Rioda. Upon returning toMurano in 1919, they dissolved Artisti Barovier and founded a new company: Vetreria artistica Barovier. Ercole (1889–1974) andNicolò (1886–1953), both sons of Benvenuto Barovier, and Napoleone, the son of Giuseppe Barovier, joined the company. Napoleone was employed as a master glassblower, and Ercole and Nicolò worked in the offices. Around 1924, the two brothers began to occasionally experiment with murrine glass, and soon Ercole proved to be a remarkably talented designer. The financial crisis that began in the United States in 1929 also impacted Murano in the early 1930s, and a number of Vetreria artistica Barovier’s partners requested the premature dissolution of their contracts. Ercole and Nicolò Barovier did not want to comply and initiated a court case, which they lost in 1932. Subsequently, Vetreria artistica Barovier was put into liquidation. The majority of the ex-part- ners founded a new company that was later to become Seguso vetri d’arte, while Ercole and Nicolò Barovier united to become Vetreria Barovier. But neither the liquidation of the dormant Vetreria artis- tica Barovier nor Ercole and Nicolò’s new enterprise met with success and in 1934, Nicolò decided to withdraw. The brothers put up Vetreria Barovier for liquidation as well. A generic group of investors who MARC HEIREMANS 1  Various texts by the author on Ercole Barovier and the Barrovier & Toso factory have been published, incl.: Heiremanns 2002. With further literature and source information fromMarino Barovier: Barovier 1993. 33