Artist & Designer: Ercole Barovier
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We hold top results for Ercole Barovier, whose body of work is striking for its staggering diversity, creative daring, and technical complexity. His nearly fifty year tenure as the artistic director, designer, and owner of Barovier & Toso is unprecedented in the history of Murano glass.

Interesting Facts of Note

At age 30, Barovier became a partner in his father Bevenuto’s company, Vetreria Artistica Barovier & C.

Established in 1936, he held the artistic director position at Barovier & Toso for nearly 50 years. In 1972, he was succeeded by his son Angelo who still directs the company today.

An inventive and experimental designer, in the 1920s Barovier created a series of animals in the Art Deco style that Gio Ponti later named, "Ballet of the Wild Beasts" which were met with great success and were widely copied.

Ercole Barovier, Tiger, 1929

Ercole Barovier is now considered one of the most charismatic figures in the history of Murano glass and one of the leading lights in the revival of the island's glass industry in the first few decades of the twentieth century...(his) enormous contribution to traditional Murano glass, in terms of knowledge, style and new techniques, is still felt today in the continuing development of glassmaking on the island.

Marsilio Editori

Modern Expressions at Artisti Barovier

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Vetro Mosaico
While Ercole’s vessels employed the vetro mosiaco technique first developed and popularized by his uncle Guiseppe Barovier, Ercole’s designs were far more radical and modern. Executed in vivid colors and often reducing plant and flower forms to near expressionist patterns, these vases are considered masterpieces of early modernist design. Made in extremely limited numbers, these works are exceedingly rare.

Ercole Barovier 1889–1974

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The nearly fifty year tenure of Ercole Barovier as artistic director, designer and owner of Barovier & Toso is unprecedented in the history of Murano glass, and the firm’s success stands as a testament to his singular artistic talent and entrepreneurial genius.

Born in 1889 to a Muranese family that could trace its origins back to the 13th century, Barovier did not train as a glassblower but had a great passion for glass and quickly distinguished himself as an innovative designer. He joined Artisti Barovier in 1919 at the age of thirty and found success designing vases in the mosaic technique. In 1930 he produced the critically acclaimed and award-winning Primavera series, the success of which encouraged him to continue his experiments.

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