Italian Murano Glass also known as Venetian Glass is an art form renowned worldwide. The designs are stunning, the colors powerful, and the craftsmanship extraordinary.

The use of superior silica, soda, lime, and potassium and the glassmakers’ expertise create outstanding works of art. Components such as gold and silver leaf add to the magic and value of many of the pieces.

Venetian glass is produced on the island of Murano in Venice. Glassmakers worked in Venice from the eighth century onwards, but in the 13th century, all the glassmakers were moved to Murano.

The official reason was to avoid a massive fire starting in Venice from the glass-making furnaces, but behind this was another reason. The Venetian Republic wanted to keep the glassmaking techniques a secret from the rest of the world.

There have been many outstanding Venetian glassmakers throughout the centuries. Here are the fascinating stories of some of the most famous glass masters.

Giuseppe Briati

Giuseppe Briati (1686 – 1772), was acclaimed for reviving Venetian chandeliers in the 18th century. These chandeliers became extremely popular with the European aristocracy and prices skyrocketed. It is believed that even the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria owned one of his chandeliers that held no less than 84 candles.

Briati had lived in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic, for a time and was impressed by the crystal chandeliers produced there. They were opulent and meticulously designed and he wanted to bring these elements to Venetian glass. Back in Murano, he opened a workshop in 1739 and began creating a new type of chandelier. His work did not stop at chandeliers. He aslo produced mirrors and other objects, but it is for the chandelier, known as the “chioche”, that he is most famous. 

Bohemian chandeliers sparkled like precious stones because the glass was cut and polished, making them reflect light in unusual ways. It was impossible to do this with Venetian glass because it was softer, but Briati didn’t give up and found a way to change the composition.

He added potassium nitrate to the mix, and this made Venetian glass stronger and more transparent, enabling Briati to shape it more easily and delicately without breaking it.

He developed new techniques to create stunning chandeliers, such as using wooden molds to make flowers, leaves, pendants, and festoons to adorn the winding and twisting arms, all in colorful Murano glass.

Although Venetian glass already had an excellent reputation, Briati’s work not only helped to maintain this, but it catapulted Murano to the forefront of the trade.

The island became the place people went to for elegant masterpieces of glasswork. Even after Briati died, his chandeliers continued to be created by highly trained glassmakers, and they are still sought after today.  

Ercole Barovier

The Barovier family started creating glass in 1295. They first produced bottles but later their interests expanded to include enamel-painted glass and stained glass. In the 15th century, they began to produce unique and exquisite crystal glass made without lead and arsenic.

The company still exists today, making it the sixth-oldest business still in operation throughout the world.

Ercole Barovier (1889 – 1974) has a superb reputation as an innovator, a creator of new and exciting techniques to make Venetian glass. He became artistic director of his family’s company when he was thirty and continued in this position for fifty years, even when Barovier’s glassworks merged with the Toso family, another famous Murano glassmaking company.

They joined forces in 1936, and after a period of collaboration, in 1942, the company was renamed Barovier and Toso.

In 1930, Barovier produced the famous Primavera (Spring) glassware series which won many awards. However, it could never be reproduced as it was the result of an accidental combination of chemicals.

The glass is milky-white and has an unusual, crackled texture, with a blue or black contrasting trim and a ceramic look.

Later in the 1930s, he developed the Coronato d’Oro collection, which was composed of glass decorated with gold leaf. In addition, he invented the unique technique called “rugiada” which involves applying tiny pieces of glass grit onto the surface of a larger piece of glass.

When the glass is heated, the grits melt slightly and stick to the piece. This technique is used for bowls and vases, often with a marine influence, and the pieces refract artificial light with a stunning effect.

In 1940, Barovier produced the “Lenti” vase series which explored intense and textural forms. The ‘Lenti’ vase is a cased glass vase with two layers. The inner layer is vividly colored glass such as crimson red or emerald green, while the outer layer is clear with slivers of pure gold leaf.

This produces an optical illusion of moving gold leaves. The ‘Lenti’ series includes bowls and lamps as well as vases.

In the 1950s, one of the techniques Barovier worked on was murrine, which inspired designs such as ‘millefili’ which gives a dainty striped decor to thin-walled vases, making them look elegant, yet fragile.

Ercole Barovier continued to work with Venetian glass until two years before he died during which time he created the ‘Neo Murrini’ series. This is an interesting technique where patterns of different colors are created in a glass cane. When the cane is sliced into cross sections, the required patterns are revealed.

Ercole Barovier died in 1974, having created over 25,000 Venetian glass designs in his 50-year career. His contributions to Murano glassware greatly influenced the modernization of Venetian glass, and as artistic director of Barovier & Toso, he led the company through years of transformation making it one of the top glassmaking establishments in the world.

Paolo Venini

Paolo Venini (1895 – 1959) was another 20th-century Venetian glassmaker who played an important part in modernizing Murano glass and making it famous throughout the world.

Although he trained as a lawyer, he was preoccupied with the arts and in 1921 he left his legal career to open a glass factory with Giacomo Cappellin. In 1925, Cappellin left the business and Venini formed his own company where he eventually employed some of the best designers in the business, such as Tyra Lundgren and Gio Ponti.

From the start of his career, Venini merged traditional methods, such as filigrana, with modern designs. He made sure that the world knew about Venetian glass by taking part in international glass exhibitions.

Even at the beginning of his career, Venini produced superb tableware which was way ahead of his contemporaries. His designs were simple and fresh, and he used unexpected combinations of colors in his glass.

There were stripes, grids, and lattices, and he would sometimes use the traditional millefiori design. One of his most striking designs was a translucent glass lamp with imposing stripes. He also produced uniquely shaped and brightly colored vases and exquisite sculptures.

Even though Venini has been dead for over 60 years, his forward vision and excellent leadership have ensured that his company has continued to flourish.

Alfredo Barbini 

Alfredo Barbini’s family had been involved in the glassmaking industry in Murano for generations. His mother’s family had been glassblowers, while his father’s, bead makers. Alfredo (1912 – 2007) started in the business when he was as young as 13 at the S.A.I.A.P Ferro Toso factory and soon rose to prominence as a designer and master glassmaker.

It wasn’t long before Barbini had conquered many of the traditional Venetian glass techniques such as filigrana, which is transparent glass with fine threads of color.

He also used the Sommerso technique which produces layered colored glass without the colors mixing, and bullicante, which introduces air bubbles into molten glass, giving a spectacular decorative effect.

In 1950, Barbini formed his own company with financial help from the famous Venetian glass firm, Salviati & Co, in exchange for producing work that was sold under their name.

Barbini created a wide range of Venetian glass including unique bowls with his signature gold bubble art. He showcased his proficiency in producing delicate glass when he created ao-called Merletto vases. Merletto means lace in Italian and is a technique using white cane to produce intricate designs and is a long and complicated process. Barbini also created cespugli pieces, which are thick sculptures.

Barbini’s work was highly regarded both during his lifetime and since. Between 1950 and 1961, his work was exhibited at the Venice Biennales, the oldest and most distinguished art exhibition in the world. He received many honors, including the honorary title of “Commendatore” and was named ‘Venetian of the Year’ in 1989 by the Settimare Association.

Alfredo Barbini left behind an important legacy and his work is still highly sought after by collectors. He was a great innovator and a master of his craft, greatly influencing the Venetian glass industry.

Lino Tagliapietra

Lino Tagliapietra received the honor of ‘Maestro’ at the young age of 21, an honor given to a master glassblower with extraordinary skills. Born in 1934, Tagliapietra began his apprenticeship at the Archimede Seguso glass factory at the age of 11.

Tagliapietra is highly regarded for his technical skill, his inventive designs, and the detailed and colorful patterns that mark his style. He influenced the rebirth of Venetian glass in the 20th century, as well as glassmaking throughout the world. His work is sought after by both collectors and art galleries.

His pieces often combine a mixture of vivid colors and clear chiseled glass, sometimes including intricate patterns. He has used the Battuto technique many times, in which the surface of the glass is cold-worked using a grinding wheel.

This marks the glass with overlapping patterns, creating a textured effect. When light hits the glass, shadows, and reflections are seen. He is also well-known for using the Incalmo technique.

This involves fusing separate pieces of different colored glass to create a single piece. The effect created is a continuous transition of different colors. It is a difficult process as the pieces of glass must be at the same temperature to fuse.

Like many glass masters of the 20th century, Tagliapietra conquered traditional techniques, but also innovated them, creating unique and intricate works of art.

Tagliapietra has held many workshops for emerging glass artists and has been a mentor, ensuring that his skills and techniques are passed on through the generations.

He has received many awards throughout his lifetime, including The Glass Art Society Lifetime Achievement Award. His works are not only owned by collectors but are shown in many museums and galleries throughout the world, including the Palazzo Ducale in Venice, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Since 1979, Tagliapietra has spent part of his time in Murano and the rest in Seattle, Washington, USA, contributing to the worldwide evolution of glassmaking and introducing Venetian glass to new generations.