100: VITTORIO ZECCHIN, Monumental Veronese vase, model 1633 < Important Design Including Post War + Contemporary Art, 5 June 2019 < Auctions

Important Design Including Post War + Contemporary Art

5 June 2019

Important Design Including Post War + Contemporary Art

Vittorio Zecchin, Monumental Veronese vase, model 1633 - Image 1 of 1

100

Vittorio Zecchin
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Monumental Veronese vase, model 1633

Venini
Italy, c. 1925
soffiato glass 16¾ h × 9 dia in (43 × 23 cm)

estimate: $5,000–7,000

result: $8,750

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provenance: Private Collection, New York
literature: Vittorio Zecchin: Transparent Glass for Cappellin and Venini, Barovier and Sonego, ppg. 100-101 illustrate model Vittorio Zecchin 1878-1947: Pittura, Vetro, Arti Decorative, Barovier, Mondi, Sonego, ppg. 162, 207 illustrate similar example Venini Glass: Its History, Artists, Techniques, Deboni, blue catalog, pg. 6 illustrates model

Veronese Vase

by Vittorio Zecchin

Designed by Vittorio Zecchin in 1921, the Veronese vase has always been the symbol of Venini. This particular shape was chosen by Zecchin and Paolo Venini for a very specific reason: its pleasing dimensions and simplicity of form express a refined sensibility which the company hoped to achieve and promote. It is also no coincidence that a transparent vase of the same form can be seen quite clearly in Paolo Veronese’s painting, The Annunciation (1578). This shrewd association with Venice of the High Renaissance sends a clear message: Venini is modern design imbued with the power of classical elegance. But beyond Paolo Venini’s genius for promotion, the fact remains that the Veronese vase does possess a timeless and archetypal beauty.

The Veronese vase presented here is the largest version made by Venini, and today only a few period examples are known to exist at this scale.

Detail from *The Annunciation* by Paolo Veronese, 1578

Vittorio Zecchin 1878–1947

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Born the son of a Murano glassblower, Vittorio Zecchin would go on to become one of the most influential Venetian artists and designers of the 20th century. Initially working as a painter in the Italian Liberty (Art Nouveau) style, Zecchin’s sensitivity to international art, combined with his love for traditional Venetian craftsmanship and design, would have a lasting influence on 20th century art-glass in Venice and beyond.

After graduating from the Venetian Academy of Fine Arts in 1901, Zecchin initially decided against a career as an artist, believing that the conservative Venetian establishment would not understand or accept his work. Instead he became civil servant in Murano and did not publicly exhibit his paintings until 1908, when a number of young Venetian artists had formed the Ca’ Pessaro group. Zecchin joined the group and by 1914 he had become one of its most influential members.

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