Balan Nambiar

Paolo De Poli
Born	(1905-08-01)August 1, 1905 Padua
Died	(1905-09-21)September 21, 1905 Padua
Nationality	Italian

"If we can speak of an Italian art of enamel , it is thanks to De Poli, to the road he opened up and followed faithfully, to the example of his orthodox technique, to his sureness of touch, to the esteem and admiration he has won. And we should to be grateful to him for this also"

— Giò Ponti, De Poli: Enamels Enamels Emaux Emaile Esmales,Guarnati,Milano,1958

Paolo De Poli (Padua, August 1, 1905 - Padua , September 21, 1996) was an Italian artist. He is known for his works in enamel on metal.

Biography

After an early training in drawing and embossing on metal at the art school Pietro Selvatico of Padua and in oil painting in the studio of the Trentini painters in Verona, he began a career as portrait and landscape painter. In 1926 he participated for the first time to the XV Venice Biennale with an oil painting. In the thirties during his travels and visits to art museums and archaeological sites he has been exposed to the traditional and ancient art of vitreous enamel. Fascinated by these experiences, from then onwards he devoted his career to creative works of enamels. By experimentation and improvement of the techniques, he mastered the craft and reached the highest levels of innovation.

He experimented with small refined decorative objects of many shapes in brilliant colors. In the forties he has collaborated with Gio Ponti in the production of furniture and decorative panels. Later their collaboration lead to new objects of design and animal motifs in sculptural forms. In addition to production of vases, bowls, trays, plates, cups, plaques and handles in enamel on copper, he also worked on large panels for decorating the interiors of ships and ocean liners, hotels, universities, public buildings and homes of collectors, in Italy and abroad. He also dedicated himself to executing altarpieces and cycles of panels on the theme of the Via Crucis, preserved in churches of Padua, Abano Terme, Bergamo and Treviso. The continuous artistic experimentation was seen in a variety of works, of intense hues or sophisticated shades, all designed, shaped and prepared in his workshop in Padua. They were displayed in hundreds of exhibitions and art salons, held in various countries around the world as part of the expression of the Italian style. He has participated 14 times at the Venice Biennale and 10 times at the Milan Triennale. As happened for the modern productions of Murano glasses or Faenza majolics, many of his modern works in enamel on copper, as wall panels or design objects, were exported out of Italy and now belong to the permanent collection of the most important museums of decorative arts and design in the world. During his sixty years career he has always been active in the promotion and protection of arts and crafts together with craft associations and boards. From 1960 to 1973 he served as member of the board of directors of the Milan Triennale. In 1970 he was decorated with the title Cavaliere del Lavoro. An annual award dedicated to Paolo De Poli, in favour of an innovative work in the field of decorative arts and design, is instituted by the Fiera di Padova . The personal archive of designs, prototypes and correspondence of the artist is entrusted to the Archivio Progetti of IUAV University of Venice.

Works

In addition to bowls, vases, trays, furniture and panels, Paolo De Poli has executed sculptures and design objects such as:

• Podestà Rusca and Vescovo Giordano, enamel panels (in collaboration with Giò Ponti), Palazzo del Bo,University of Padua, 1940.
• Le quattro stagioni, enamel panels (in collaboration with Gio Ponti), first class hall of the SS Conte Grande of the Società di Navigazione Italia, 1949.
• Arlecchino, enamel panel (in collaboration with Gio Ponti), ship SS Conte Biancamano of the Società di Navigazione Italia, 1949.
• Chiaro di luna, enamel panel on design by Bruno Saetti, 1956.
• Il grande gallo, sculpture on model by Marcello Mascherini, 1957.
• Primavera-Estate, enamel panel on design by Gino Severini, 1957.
• Il grande Pavone, sculture, Gallery of Modern Art, Venice, 1962.
• Omaggio a Galileo, sculture, Palazzo del Bo, University of Padua, 1964.
• Pala di Sant'Antonio and Pala della Vergine, enamel panel on design by the painter Pino Casarini, Chiesa del Sacro Cuore, Abano Terme (Padua), 1964.
• Il toro, Musei Civici, Padua, 1966.
• Piccione, Musei Civici, Padua.
• Gabbiani con sole, enamel panel, Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro, Rome, 1977.

Awards and recognitions

• 1935: Brussels International Exposition, silver medal
• 1936: VI Milan Triennale, gold medal
• 1940: VII Milan Triennale, Grand Prix from the Presidency of the Council
• ...

Exhibitions

• "Italy at work", Brooklyn Museum, New York, 1950.
• VII Milan Triennale, 1940.
• Omaggio a Manhattan, Enamels by Paolo De Poli, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, 1967.
• XXXIV Biennale di Venezia, Venice, 1968.
• Omaggio a Paolo De Poli, Museo della Scienza e della Tecnicnologia, Milan, 1972.
• L’arte dello smalto: Paolo De Poli,Palazzo della Ragione Padua, 1984.
• 8e Biennale de l'émail, Limoges, 1986.
• Exhibiton at the Musei Civici of Padua, 2007
• Exhibition Studi d'artista. Padova e il Veneto nel Novecento, Musei Civici of Padua, April 16– August 29, 2010

Bibliography

• Giò Ponti, De Poli: Enamels Enamels Emaux Emaile Esmales,Guarnati,Milano,1958
• Pier Luigi Fantelli, L'arte dello smalto: Paolo De Poli, Padova, 1984. [1]
• Jean-Marc Ferrer, Véronique Notin, L'art de l'émail à Limoges, Culture et patrimoine en Limousin, 2005, (ISBN 2-911167-44-9).

External links

• PDF) Form (Italian) on University IUAV of Venice web site.
• On Paolo De Poli on Padua University web site: biography, works, images.
• Paolo De Poli biography, works, images.
• Paolo De Poli main works.