GALILEO CHINI: CERAMICS
Vieri Chini
In
Europe
, at the end of the 19th
century, a reform movement developed with the purpose of reviving applied arts
from the standstill where they were slumped.
This reform happened mainly through artists specializing in painting and
sculpture. The originality of this
movement was in a form very distant from the handicraft conventions.
Nevertheless,
Italy
, a country
not very prone to officially accepting such radical changes, found in Galileo
Chini one of these very first reformers.
In 1896, along with some friends, Galileo Chini founded a small factory
called, "The Art of the Ceramics".
The articles manufactured here stirred up excitement due to their
modernity and quality. Their forms, decorated as they were, spoke for
themselves. The ornamental designs were extremely realistic and at the Turin
Expo’ of 1898, they were rewarded with the gold medal.
Chini had a preference for pastel tints and objects d’art produced by
"The Art of the Ceramics" were often the peacock and the swan, animals
adored by artists of that period. The
collection of other assorted ceramics, rich in gold, coloration, and decoration
were truly a joy to the eye.
One of the
factors that contributed to the success of the production house was the use of
the “lustro metallico”, which is a very ancient technique.
The factory engaged also in the production of “grès”
(stone-pottery). The “grès”
pieces were almost always monochrome decorated in blue cobalt on raw background.
Decorated motifs produced were generally palmettos, flying animals,
antelopes, and geometric motifs.
Because of discord among partners, Galileo, and subsequently Chinos, left
"Art of the Ceramics" and founded a new factory named "Fornaci
San Lorenzo" in the native Borgo San Lorenzo in Mugello, not far from
Florence
.
Compared with the "Art of the Ceramics", the products of this
new factory introduced radical changes. The
factory won public attention at the Venetian "Biennale" exhibition
when a pavement was created in grès polychrome for the “Sala del Sogno”
(The Room of the Dream). Numerous
relationships between Galileo Chini and personalities of the art world, allowed
him to gain even more commercial profit owing to the products of the factory.
Unfortunately, at the same time, there was some misunderstanding between
Galileo and
Chino
perhaps as a result of differences in characters.
In 1911, upon invitation of the King of the
Siam
, who had
admired his works at the Biennale exhibition in
Venice
, Galileo left
Italy
to
decorate the Palace of the Throne in
Bangkok
, where he stayed
for some years. The absence of
Galileo caused great difficulty for
Chino
, who was left alone to manage the Factory and further tormented by
health problems. The economic situation of the factory was not good and the
breakout of the First World War further increased the precarious conditions of
the Fornaci San Lorenzo, determining, above all, a deceleration of the
factory’s activity.
With the return of Galileo from
Siam
in 1914, the production of the factory increased with new typologies.
In the following years, the Factory fulfilled the demanding task of
coating the ceramic stone-pottery of the “Thermal Establishment of
Salsomaggiore”.
It appears that Galileo transferred influences
of oriental taste, assimilated during his stay in
Siam
, to the
planner Giusti. For Galileo Chini,
the
Paris
exhibition in
1925 marked the gradual abandonment of ceramics for a more and more assiduous
return to paintings. The activity of the Factory continued with the
help of
Chino
and his children, Tito and Augusto, who continued to produce many pieces
created by Galileo in the previous years.
