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Rosso di Montelupo: A true Italian ceramic masterpiece

Considered the masterpiece of Tuscan ceramics from Montelupo, Tuscan ceramics - Rosso di Montelupo - Museum of Montelupothe “Red from Montelupo” is a large basin richly decorated with grotesque figured and powerfully vivid colors.

It was made in 1509 in Lorenzo di Piero Sartori’s workshop, one of the most prestigious in Montelupo. The author’s signature – Lo – is elegantly painted on the back of the basin, still in excellent condition after more 500 years.

The Rosso owes its name to the red glaze used for its decoration, whose ingredients are still a mystery to date. Very likely this unusual glaze was brought to Montelupo from Iznik, in Turkey, by the Florentine merchants who traded Montelupo ceramics all over the world. Indeed, it looks very similar to a peculiar manganese oxide rich in arsenic extracted in Anatolia.

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Deruta pottery interprets Pintoricchio

March 9 – June 29, 2008
Deruta – Italy

Last week Manuela and I went to DSanta Maria dei Fossi Altarpiece (detail) - Pintoricchio (1496-98) - National Gallery of Umbriaeruta to visit a temporary exhibition held at the local Museum of Ceramics.

The exhibition, titled “Deruta pottery interprets Pintoricchio”, is one of the many events organized in Umbria to celebrate the 550th anniversary of the painter’s birth, whose influence greatly contributed to the success of Deruta ceramics during the Renaissance.

The Museum Committee has asked 29 individual ceramic artists and small factories to creatively interpret Pintoricchio’s heritage. The result is very interesting, indeed.

While highlighting the contribution of Bernardino di Betto, called Pintoricchio or Pinturicchio to Deruta pottery, the exhibition implicitly reminds the visitors of the large amount of talent which, six centuries after Pinturicchio, is still at work in this charming ancient village.

The exhibitions features very qualitative ceramic works: most of them are figurative art, a minority is abstract art. We loved the portrait paintings, in the purest style of the Renaissance pieces that built the huge reputation of Deruta ceramics. Continue reading →

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Umbria pottery: the Brocche dei Ceri and the Good Luck Shards from Gubbio

Umbria Gubbio (Umbria) - Italyis one of Italy’s smallest regions, whose secretive beauty is made of rolling hills dotted with castles and monasteries and whose charming hill town have been producing world renowned handmade ceramics since the Renaissance.

It’s really hard to resist the charm of Deruta ceramics, or Gubbio ceramics…
Born as merely functional to human life, Umbrian ceramics have evolved into a form of Art, without ever ceasing to be part of people’s life.

A symbol of the strong tie between Umbria pottery and the lively regional traditions are the Brocche dei Ceri, large ceramic pitchers which play a relevant role in the most famous “Corsa dei Ceri” or Race of the Saints.

St Ubaldo, the Patron Saint of the GubbioThis spectacular event is held in Gubbio each May 15th to honor St Ubaldo, the Patron Saint of the town.

Three teams (the Ceraioli) devoted to St Ubaldo, St Giorgio and St Antonio and clad respectively in yellow, blue and black shirts, run along the streets of Gubbio and up much of the mountain to the Church of St Ubaldo.

Each team carries a statue of their saint mounted on a wooden octagonal prism 7 meters tall and weighing about 280 kilograms, the so called Ceri (candles). Throngs of cheering supporters follow the runners. Altogether an unforgettable event!

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The Sources of Portrait in Deruta Ceramics

No ceramic lover can resist the timeless charm of a Renaissance portrait finely painted on a Deruta ceramic.

Deruta ceramics - Renaissance wall plate - Photo credit: Deruta MuseumScattered all over the world in the most prestigious museums, Deruta portrait ceramics share the same taste for proportions, the gentle forms, the harmonious colors, the fine heads and sweet gentle faces expressing utter serenity and selflessness.

During the Renaissance portraits were one of the favorite subjects of Deruta potters, less keen on painting historical scenes (istoriato) which, on the contrary, were the pride of Gubbio, Casteldurante, Faenza and Urbino.

Before going through the reasons why Deruta pottery was so different from other Umbrian ceramics, it’s necessary to take a step back and focus on the revolutionary impact of the Renaissance on the contemporary lifestyle. Continue reading →

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I won an awesome piece of antique Tuscan pottery!!!

Tuscan ceramics - Arlecchino wall plate from Montelupo I still cannot believe it’s mine. But it’s here, on MY desk, in MY studio. It’s a real, authentic Arlecchino from Montelupo and a most beautiful one. A splendid piece of Tuscan ceramics, indeed.

There is this tiny Auction House not far from my place. I like to go there and have a look when they exhibit their pieces prior to an auction. I always find some little treasures buried among old furs and very expensive antique paintings.

Last time I went there I could not believe my eyes. The Arlecchino grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let it go. I HAD to try and place a bid, although I didn’t really hope I would be able to get it. I did instead!

I love Tuscan ceramics. They are so colorful, warm, “sunny” in a way.Tuscan ceramics - Arlecchino wall plate from Montelupo - Detail
I didn’t own antique pieces, though. It’s great to start with an Arlecchino.

As it happens, I recently wrote an article on the Arlecchini from Montelupo and their role in the history of Tuscan pottery. It brought me good luck.
I will think very carefully about my next subject for an article. Who knows what might happen…

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Cantagalli Pottery and the Magic Cockerel

Last week a new friend, Anne, wrote a comment in our blog requesting some info on Cantagalli.

Cantagalli trademarkI found the post very intriguing for a number of reasons.
First of all, I wondered why Cantagalli is so popular in UK and US, while he never reached the same star status here in Italy.
Secondly, I was puzzled by the quantity of ceramic works marked Cantagalli that are available over the Internet.
Lastly, it made me want to investigate on Cantagalli’s version of Della Robbia’s terracottas.

I made some research and I noticed that there is not much info handy on the subject on the web… So I went through my books and art magazines and I found some interesting facts.

That gave me the idea to reply to Anne’s question with an article that can be useful to collector’s who love the magic cockerel but do not know much about his father: Ulisse Cantagalli.

About Ulisse Cantagalli
Ulisse Cantagalli was a superb artist and an even better businessman.

Not much of him is known before 1878 when he took over the family factory in Florence and started to produce highly decorative Italian ceramics in the Renaissance style. At the time the taste for this kind of pottery was a very hot trend in the English speaking countries.
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The International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza celebrates 100 years

A visit to the Museum: Italian ceramics and much more…
The MIC - International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza The MIC – International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza – is reputed to be the world’s largest ceramic Museum and one of the liveliest art institutions in Italy.
Its collections provide the visitor with a complete overview of the history of Italian pottery and International ceramics, the evolution of pottery making techniques and the evolution of the visual ceramic art into figurative art, sculpture and design.

The collections encompass Italian ceramic works from the Middle Ages to the Present. A nice section displays the “functional” Italian pottery over time from the North to the South of the country: pieces molded for everyday use, whose features are strongly connected to their regional heritage.

Although Italian pottery is the core of the Museum’s holdings, most interesting collections from all over the world promote the understanding and appreciation of International ceramic art and history.

The Museum is namely proud to display important works from the Pre-Columbian America, the Classic Greece, the Roman Age, the Far and Middle East and the largest collection in Italy of Muslim and Hispano Moresque pottery. Continue reading →

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ConCreta 2008 – International Exhibition of Ceramic Sculpture

March 16 – June 30, 1008
Certaldo, Palazzo Pretorio

Palazzo Pretorio in CertaldoThis is the Second Edition of a very successful exhibition, organized for the first time last year by the International Ceramic School La Meridiana and the Galleria Gulliver. It is held in Certaldo, a lovely town in Tuscany, not far from Florence and Siena.

The art works will be displayed in an outstanding location: the garden and the interior of Palazzo Pretorio, a very handsome building which could be in itself a reason for visiting Certaldo. The Palace is 1000 years old and it has been recently restored to its original condition. Its facade is richly decorated with ceramic coat of arms, two of them made by Della Robbia. In the interior there are beautiful frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli.

No better location could be chosen to highlight the close relationship between Ceramic Art and the Tuscany countryside, a timeless source of inspiration for ceramic artists.

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Bruny Sartori – Italian Art Pottery

March 29 – May 11, 2008
Brescia – Italy

Italian ceramic sculpture by Bruny SartoriSartori’s works are “earthenware ideas”. They have mysterious origins and appear to be completely uninfluenced by his heritage, the artistic traditions of his land, his experiences.

Looking at his ceramic sculptures, the first impression one gets is that they belong to the earth they are made of , so strict is the relationship between the artifact and the material. Just as if time had stopped and the material had become solid.

His organic and abstract shapes, along with his figures are the key characters of Sartori’s creative themes, such as “Meteors” and “Geologic Echos”.

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Loza dorada – The Hispano-Moresque Ceramics and the Origins of Italian Majolica

Hispano-Moresque ceramicIn 711 a small army of North African Berbers invaded Spain and established an Iberian Islamic culture that would last for over 700 years.

This event was to make a major contribution to the development of art pottery in Europe.

Moors were great potters. Their techniques had traveled with them through North Africa to the Iberian peninsula, where they became well established, possibly as early as the 11th century.

They manufactured elaborate tin glazed pottery and metallic lusters which were still unknown in Europe. The success of their ceramics was immediate and soon they began to export them all over Europe.

Italian people were passionate about Hispano-Moresque pottery.
Local potters had never seen anything like that and wanted to investigate those innovative techniques. Collectors just loved them and ordered celebration plates, apothecary jars and tableware.

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