Translation by Francesco Mazzaferro
CLICK HERE FOR ITALIAN VERSION
CLICK HERE FOR ITALIAN VERSION
Bologna’s Applied Arts and Crafts
Introduction by Francesco Malaguzzi Valeri; texts by Frank de Morsier
Bologna, Provincial Council of Economics, 1928 (but 1929)
(Review by Giovanni Mazzaferro)
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| Fig. 1) Cover of the work (intact) |
From time to time one can afford something really atypical. It is the case of this book, published - not for commercial sale - in 500 copies by the Provincial Council of Economics of Bologna. The copy that we have (we bought it in the antiquarian market and with an ownership label by the G. Bortolotti Library) is unfortunately damaged.
In
particular, pages 7 and 9, i.e. the title page and an extract of the resolution
of the President of the Provincial Council (explaining the reasons for the
publication) were cut out. The tables that the work presents are so beautiful
that one might even assume that the pages may have been cut out, to be sold
separately. However, it is more likely that the silly (and uncivilized) motivation
was to delete every reference to fascism included in those pages. In fact, in the
cover the words '6th year of the fascistic era' (which is visible in the
reproduction we found on ebay and we
are attaching as fig. 1) was cancelled with blue pen.
According
to what reported just on the cover, the year of publication of the work would
be 1928, but it seems clear that it was instead 1929, because the text of De
Morsier ends with the indication 'July 1929', and because the same indication
appears with reference to the date of print: "Printed by Officine
Grafiche Cacciari,July 1929, 7th year of the F.E." The reasons for the discrepancy
among the two dates could be tragic. The introduction of the work is in fact
signed by Francesco Malaguzzi Valeri, director of the Pinacoteca (National Art Gallery) of Bologna from 1914 onwards and the true
'inventor' of the museum Davia-Bargellini, an institution to which we will refer
later on. Malaguzzi Valeri committed suicide on September 23, 1928 after a
scandal linked to the disappearance of some of the paintings from the Pinacoteca itself [1]. It is likely that
the affair led to embarrassment and delays.
What is
certain is that the book is made with true ambitions. This is demonstrated
first of all by the fact that it is written in English (the translation is by
Prof. Tolomeo Folladore, Professor of Languages at the Military Academy of
Modena) and conceived for an obviously international diffusion; second, by the
fact that the cover and the drawings are signed by Alfredo Baruffi, an
illustrator and Art Nouveau designer who created important cycles in support of
the works of Carducci and Pascoli [2]; and finally by the fact that that
authors are indeed Malaguzzi Valeri on the one hand and the lawyer Frank De
Morsier, a Bolognese landowner widely present in the main political
institutions of Bologna, first with the Liberals, then in the ranks of fascism.
'Arts and Crafts': from William Morris to Fascism
But above
all, it is that title (Bologna's Applied
Arts & Crafts) that recalls unequivocally the experience of the late
nineteenth century launched by William Morris in England, under the influence
of Ruskin and the Pre-Raphaelite art.
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| Fig. 2) Detail of a season ticket fot the 'Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society'. Design by Walter Crane. 1890 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
And it is
no coincidence that one of the tables, the one numbered LXV, shows the (Art
nouveau) cover of a book by Cesare Ratta, dedicated to William Morris and
published in Bologna in 1921.
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| Fig. 3) From inside the work: Plate LXV: Cover for a monograph published by the School of Typography in the city of Bologna - Border by Mr. Tirelli, Painter |
Of course,
between the birth of the English Arts and Crafts and the book we are
considering nearly fifty years had passed. One cannot pretend that nothing
happened in between. Without claiming to summarize fifty years in ten lines,
however, we would like to mention the following: the Arts and Crafts by Morris was born as a reaction to the
industrial mode of production brought into England during the XIX century; it involved
the revaluation of craft as art; the recovery of the Middle Ages, the
identification of the beautiful with the useful; but it was above all an idea
of socialist footprint; it was a form of challenge to the model of society
that historically had been growing in Great Britain, as also shown by the
biographies of individual founders.
The seed by
Morris takes little to bear fruit throughout Europe. These are the fruits of the
Art Nouveau and Liberty, which literally invades the continent in every corner,
and it is clear, even Italy. Liberty, after Baroque, becomes a true universal style
[3]. Everywhere schools of industrial art are opening, where the craft returns
to rise to the role of art in the production of objects dedicated basically to
the daily life of the European bourgeoisie. The myth of the Gothic changes the
appearance of our cities. And it is the case of mention, with reference to
Bologna, the famous (and far too criticized) 'medieval' restorations of the Bolognese
churches and palaces by Alfonso Rubbiani. From the socialist idea, in short, we
moved to a bourgeois myth.
Then war
broke out; a terrible tragedy. Millions of deaths. In Italy, the enthusiasm for
the victory and the frustration of the obtained results, which do not
correspond to what had been agreed at the time of entry into the conflict; the
new flare-up of nationalism. On the other hand, the Russian Revolution;
advancing socialism; strikes in the countryside (with particular impact around Bologna);
the revolt of the day labourers; disorders, casualties, the perception that the
sanctity of private property (the basic principle of a bourgeois civilization)
is being challenged by revolutionary movements. The arrival of fascism - offering
an easy shortcut through the violence to the problems to which the liberal
state has not been able to find answers. The return to order, an order based on
consensus and at the same time violent repression of the democratic opposition.
In this context, the applied arts represent, in fact, a ‘return to order’ of a (falsely)
pacified society. Originating from the criticism vis-à-vis the society made
by William Morris, Applied Arts and Crafts are now a nostalgic return to a
(mythological) happy time of peace, under the guarantee of the fascist regime.
It is no coincidence, then, to support Applied Arts and Crafts are those economic
organizations in which reactionary and conservative elements of society have
most weight.
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| Fig. 4) From inside the work: Plate LXVI Cover of a volume of Carducci, designed by Adolfo De Carolis, Painter. and publishe by the house of Nicola Zanichelli |
In 1926 the
old Chambers of Commerce are replaced by the new Provincial Councils of
Economics. The Councils will then become, in 1931, the Provincial Councils of the
corporative economy. But we are already, in 1926, within an embryo of corporate
economy of fascist nature. Frank de Morsier writes [4]: “The transformation of
the Chambers of Commerce into Provincial Councils of Economics, while increasing
the importance of the representation of the economics of the City, and its
Province, has bestowed upon it more precise duties and a vaster task. On the
other hand, the new constructive [note of the editor: fascist] spirit which
animates all Italian energies is, in its turn, a stimulus to these new
Institutions […] More than once it has been ascertained by the Provincial
Council of Economics that the economic aspect of this City is not known, both
in Italy and abroad, as it ought, and deserves, to be. Moreover, that some of
its special branches of production, well worth our particular attention, are
totally ignored. Hence, the above-mentioned resolution [note of the editor: of publishing
this book]; whose aim is to spread more and more exact and thorough information
on the activity of our manufacturers and artisans, so that its rightful place
may be secured, in our national economy, to the Bolognese market” (p. 20).
The Bolognese Applied Arts
The writing
of De Morsier reviews, without any particular merit, the various areas of Bolognese
crafts, providing a brief overview of the birth times of manufactures (the
origins are always identified in the Middle Ages); the names of the most
representative companies operating at the time of publication are reported, ranging
from wood processing and the creation of furniture to metallurgy, ceramics and
pottery to stucco and glass production; from textile to graphic arts. A few gaps
are noticeable, showing that the volume serves more as a promotional tool of
existing crafts than as an examination of any particular craft production in a historical
perspective. For example, any reference to the Aldrovandi Ceramics is missing:
with no doubt, due to the quality of the results, they have been historically
one of the highest points reached by the Bolognese ceramic. Opened at the end
of the eighteenth century, Aldrovandi Ceramics had however terminated its
activities in the late nineteenth century [5].
There is no
doubt that, in the context of Italian Art Nouveau, the most significant
economic initiative at the national level has been the experience of Aemilia Ars (pp. 49-50). Aemilia Ars was founded in 1898 on the
initiative of various entrepreneurs (all belonging to the Bolognese aristocracy,
in fact) and strongly inspired by Alfonso Rubbiani, who became the artistic
director. It is born as a society open to all areas of Bolognese craft, but
despite the good results and awards, it closes almost immediately because of
the unsustainable costs. The Countess Lina Bianconcini, wife of Francesco
Cavazza (who had been one of the original promoters of the initiative) decides,
however, to keep alive the activity, focusing on the textile industry. The 'Aemilia Ars Lace and Embroidery'
literally become famous worldwide: the Bolognese laces are most sought; they
have patterns that normally take example from Medieval or Renaissance motifs,
and that invade homes across the European high bourgeoisie. As many noted, Aemilia
Ars, besides enhancing the quality of production in Bologna, also plays a
worthy social role, emphasizing the work of women of all social classes. The
company, in short, creates a source of income from a job that can be done at
home and that earlier on, remaining in the family, had not been even paid. The
experience of the lace from Bologna, at least in its most classic form, ends
finally in 1935. [6]
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| Fig. 5) From inside the work. Plate LI: Point-lace |
Those passages
dedicated to the world of publishing and printing in Bologna are nothing more
but a few hints. But I cannot keep silent on them, if only for personal passion,
and also because the book includes beautiful tables taken from the publication
of the School of Printing in Bologna, and in particular the volumes of the
series ‘Gli adornatori del libro in Italia’ (Book adorners in Italy), published
by the Workshop of the School of Typography Arts of the city of Bologna
(1923-1927), and edited by Cesare Ratta [7]. We scanned some tables that are displayed
in this post (Figs. 3, 4, 6 and 7). Of course, in the area of publishing are cited
the Zanichelli publishing house (as publisher of the works of Carducci and
Pascoli) and the Licinio Cappelli Library. But the series of printers is long;
and we cannot forget designers like Baruffi, who also works at the ornaments of
this volume.
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| Fig. 6) From inside the work: Plate LXVII Front-cover for a series of novels published by the House Cappelli. Painter Bignami |
The Museum Davia-Bargellini and the Royal School for Decorative Arts
The
introduction of Francesco Malaguzzi Valeri has certainly a higher breath.
Malaguzzi Valeri - as already mentioned - is the one that deals with a not
secondary matter of those years, namely the inclusion of Bolognese artistic
craft in the museums. This process consists of setting up the (still today
essentially unchanged) Davia Bargellini Museum (one of the many unknown
treasures of Bolognese arts), located on the ground floor of the homonymous
senatorial palace belonging to the Bargellinis first and then just to the Davias.
The museum is a (successful) attempt to combine two aspects of the artistic
heritage of the city: on one side the Davia Bargellini picture gallery; on the other
hand the collections of applied art, from disparate origin, either from donations
or purchases operated in those years.
Malaguzzi
focuses on the setting up of the room (with reference to industrial art),
describing the choices made and recognising the pinnacle of Bolognese craft
during the Baroque with regard to the production of furniture, picture frames,
candlesticks and other objects. What is interesting is to note how much the
author counts on the educational value of the exposure: having created a museum
not only allows the foreigner to get an idea of the history of local craft, but
above all facilitate contemporary craftsmen to be inspired by the objects
exposed in their productions, thus significantly contributing to raising the
quality of the same.
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| Fig. 7) From inside the work: Table LXXII |
This link
with the pedagogical and educational aspect has always been felt very strongly;
the Museum itself is not sufficient to maintain the applied arts alive; there
is the need of a school. And this institution is the Royal School for the
Decorative Arts, founded in 1885 as a private institution and later became
public in 1890 (the current Art Institute [9]). Here is the text of the author:
“The School, in its present condition, does by no means answer to the needs of
our city, which is the fittest in Northern Italy for industrial art. The rooms
are insufficient, and so are the income and the number of lessons. It lies in
the intentions of the Board of Direction that particular attention be devoted
to adult workmen, for whom a special abridged course will be of the utmost
utility in order «make of them intelligent executors as regards both style and
correct interpretation of the designs and models». And to this purpose the
above mentioned Museum will certainly contribute, thanks to its numerous and
well-arranged models, better than any other stimulant. It will foster the
direct study of models, restrain the mania for over-elaboration, … awaken in
the worker the sense of restraint, good taste and line”. (pp. 15-16). It is a
vision very similar to the one which had led to the birth of the Academies in
previous centuries, the only difference being that while in that case the
reasoning was referred to the fine arts (especially painting), here we are
talking about applied arts.
Naturally Bologna's Applied Arts & Crafts can
appear as a mere oddity today, or as a volume in which the property-owning
class and the scholars of the city represent itself (with some international
ambitions); it is hard to deny it. The fact remains that it also allows us to
have a – sweetened, although all in all quite true – picture of the ways in
which the great passion for the arts began to develop in industrial Bologna in
the early decades of the twentieth century; and a picture which a visit to the
Davia Bargellini Museum would help to better understand.
NOTES
[3] See Antonio Paolucci, Uno
stile universale (Art Nouveau. A universal style) in “Liberty. Uno stile
per l’Italia moderna” (Art Nouveau. A style for modern Italy). Catalogue by
Fernando Mazzocca, Cinisello Balsamo, Silvana Editoriale, 2014.
[4] The original English text is reported.
[5] Nicoletta Barberini, La manifattura Aldrovandi (The Aldravandi Manufactury), Bologna, 1996.
[10] The original English text is reported.
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