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Italian centre of ceramic production. The town, situated near Savona in Liguria, was a flourishing centre of maiolica production during the Renaissance. It was, however, only during the 17th and 18th centuries that a distinctive style developed. Important families in the pottery business included the Grosso, Chiodo, Corrado, Salomone, Pescio, Seitone, Seirullo, Levantino and Siccardi, all of whom produced large quantities of polychrome plates (e.g. by the Corrado, mid-17th century; Nino Ferrari priv. col., see Morazzoni, pl. 43), albarelli and vases, which were sometimes inspired by silverware and contemporary delftware. In some cases, yellow and an olive green were used on a turquoise ground. Wares were decorated in a calligraphic style with an emphasis on naturalistic motifs including such animals as leverets; this style later evolved into Baroque forms painted with soft, loose brushstrokes.

In the 1920s the Futurist potter Tullio Mazzotti (1899–1971), who took the name Tullio d’Albisola, revived Albisola’s reputation as a pottery centre. The town continued to produce pottery throughout the 20th century, especially the blue-and-white pottery known as Antico Savona. The Museo della Ceramica Manlio Trucco houses a collection of Albisola pottery from every period....

[Giorgio da Gubbio; Mastro Giorgio]

(b Intra or Pavia, c. 1465–70; d Gubbio, 1555).

Italian potter. He probably learnt the rudiments of pottery at Pavia and seems to have moved to Gubbio c. 1490, together with his brothers Giovanni Andreoli (d c. 1535) and Salimbene Andreoli (d c. 1522). He became a citizen of Gubbio in 1498. He is particularly well known for his lustrewares, and other potters, especially from the Metauro Valley, sent their work to be lustred in his workshop. His wares made in 1518–19 were frequently signed and dated. His istoriato (narrative) wares (e.g. plate decorated with Hercules and the Hydra, c. 1520; Oxford, Ashmolean) can be dated until at least 1537. In 1536 the workshop seems to have been taken over by his sons Vincenzo Andreoli (Mastro Cencio) and Ubaldo Andreoli.

(b Rovigo, 1486–7; d 1542).

Italian maiolica painter . More is known about Avelli than any other maiolica painter because of his many signed works and the autobiographical details included in his sonnets in honour of Francesco Maria I della Rovere, Duke of Urbino. Avelli considered himself to be not only an artist but also a poet and courtier. His intellectual abilities set him apart from his colleagues, even if as a painter he was not the most talented. He seems never to have directed his own workshop, but he is known to have worked in Urbino from 1530, the year of his first unequivocally signed and dated plate; some pieces from the 1520s signed f.r. and f.l.r. may also be ascribed to him. His familiarity with Classical and contemporary literature is evident in his choice of secular and religious subjects, taken from such authors as Virgil and Ovid, Ariosto and Petrarch (e.g. plate, 1531; London, BM). He also depicted contemporary events, sometimes in allegorical form, for example the Sack of Rome (...

(fl 1566–89).

Italian potter. He was born in Ascanio and worked in Faenza, initially with Virgiliotto Calamelli, from whose widow he bought the workshop in 1570. Bettisi made huge maiolica services, including one of several hundred pieces made for Albert V of Bavaria in 1576; there is a broad-rimmed bowl from this service in Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. His wares and those of his workshop are marked ‘Don Pino’....

Germany pottery manufactory. In 1904 Emperor Willliam II founded an imperial pottery on his private estate near the East Prussian town of Cadinen (now the Polish town of Kadyny). The factory made imitations of classical and Renaissance pottery, and also produced original works by artists such as Adolf Amberg, Ludwig Manzel (...

[Virgilio]

(fl Faenza, 1531; d Faenza, c. 1570).

Italian potter. He was the son of Giovanni da Calamello, and there are plenty of documents relating to him, especially after 1540, when as a practising potter he went to sell his wares in Bologna. He was so successful that citizenship was conferred on him. In Faenza his workshop was situated in the S Vitale quarter, where there were many other potteries during the 16th century. An inventory of 1556 (Grigioni, pp. 143–51) describes his economic position and the progress of his workshop. Apparently his was among the most well-established workshops in Faenza, able to produce huge table-services, including water jugs, salt-cellars, dishes and vases (e.g. vase with lion handles, c. 1550–60; Brunswick, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Mus.). In 1566, for health reasons, he handed his shop over to Leonardo Bettisi, known as Don Pino, also from Faenza. Calamelli is recognized as an important exponent of the Compendiario (sketchy) style, which was typical of the so-called ...

Italian centre of maiolica production. It was the main centre of pottery production in Umbria during the Renaissance. A document of 1358 records the sale of ceramic wares to the convent of S Francesco in nearby Assisi, although potteries probably existed in Deruta even earlier. Between c. 1490 and 1550 production increased in quantity and quality, and plain and decorated wares were supplied to a wide market (see fig.; see also Italy, fig.). By the early 16th century 30 to 40 kilns were in operation, of which only three or four used the metallic gold and red lustres for which Deruta and Gubbio are renowned. As in Gubbio, lustres were applied to local wares and to those brought from such other centres of production as Urbino for this specialized finish. In addition to lustred ceramics, quantities of polychrome maiolica were produced, the predominant colours of which are yellow, orange and blue. In the 17th and 18th centuries the quality of ceramic production declined and was characterized by the manufacture of votive plaques that were placed in churches and homes....

(fl c. 1543–54).

Italian ceramics painter. He was first active in Urbino, where he is recorded as working in the workshop of Guido di Merlino from 1543. His early signed and dated works include a dish painted with a scene showing Martius Coriolanus and his Mother (1544; London, BM) and a fragment (1546; Stockholm, Nmus.) illustrating the Death of Polixena and bearing the monogram and sign of Urbino. Stylistically very similar to these are plates and dishes illustrating biblical and mythological scenes, dating from 1542 to 1547 (examples in Brunswick, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Mus.; London, V&A; Edinburgh, Royal Mus. Scotland; Pesaro, Mus. Civ.). In 1547 he took over a kiln in Monte Bagnolo, near Perugia. Certain large vessels, decorated both inside and out, have been attributed to this period (examples in Florence, Bargello, and London, V&A), as have albarelli and flasks. His work is characterized by a strong palette of blues, yellows, oranges and greens and lightly marked contours. His compositions were inspired by printed sources including the illustrated version of Livy’s ...

Italian family of potters. The workshop founder, Guido Durantino (d c. 1576), was established as a potter in Urbino by 1519 and by 1553 had adopted the name Fontana. His three sons, Nicolo Fontana (d 1565), Camillo Fontana (d 1589) and Orazio Fontana (c. 1510–76), also took part in the business, as did Nicolo’s son Flaminio Fontana (fl after 1576). The workshop was one of the most influential in the area during the 16th century.

Guido Durantino has been described as ‘an artist of somewhat elusive personality’ (Mallet), and it is still not certain whether as head of the workshop he confined his activities to the administration shop or was also a painter. The products of his studio include works dated between 1528 and 1542 and two important armorial services (both c. 1535) made for the Constable of France, ...

[Curstgen; Kestgen; Kneutgen; Knuytgin]

German family of potters. The family achieved prominence during the second half of the 16th century for its achievements in the production of salt-glazed stoneware in Siegburg.

Anno Knütgen (fl 1564–83) was ducal governor of the monastery in Siegburg from 1564 to 1575. The stonewares made in his workshop, which was probably the largest in Siegburg, included Sturzbecher (somersault cups), Trichterbecher (baluster-shaped beakers), flasks (e.g. field-flask, 1573; Cologne, Kstgewmus.) and Schnellen (tall, tapering tankards). An important figure, who was probably employed in the workshop, was the journeyman Frans Trac (fl 1559–68) who, c. 1559, began to decorate wares (particularly Schnellen) with relief motifs inspired by wares from Cologne (e.g. Schnelle, 1559; Nuremberg, Ger. Nmus.). The decorative schemes on the wares were based on engravings by such contemporary artists as Heinrich Aldegrever, Peter Flötner, Sebald Beham, Virgil Solis, Theodor de Bry, Jörg Breu and Abraham de Bruyn. The illustrations published by Sigmund Feyerabend, whose first Bible was issued in ...

(fl 1526; d Faenza, 1546–7).

Italian potter. He was a member of an important family of maiolica potters in Faenza; his father Giuliano Manara and his uncle Sebastiano worked in Faenza, as several documents prove. Baldassare was one of the most eminent artists working in Faenza during the first half of the 16th century. A series of documents refer to his workshop in the S Clemente district of the city, and he left many works, signed with the monogram bm or his signature in full, dated between 1532 and 1538. Manara was an exponent of the istoriato (narrative) genre, in which despite being inspired by many of Raphael’s subjects taken from prints, he also derived some elements of form and colour from istoriato maiolica made in Urbino (as in a shallow bowl decorated with the Triumph of Time, 1530–35; Oxford, Ashmolean). Historians often regard Manara as the single greatest influence on maiolica production in Faenza during the second ...

[Risino]

(fl Faenza, 1527–81).

Italian potter. He directed one of the most famous ceramic workshops in Faenza during the 16th century. Through its production, it is possible to follow the stylistic evolution of Renaissance maiolica from the ‘Severe’ style through to the wares known as bianchi di Faenza, for the invention of which Mezzarisa is thought to have been largely responsible (see Faenza). He is also noted for a few important istoriato (narrative) wares, with skilfully applied decoration, including the large plaque depicting the Deposition, signed and dated 1544, and a vase decorated with biblical scenes dated 1558 (both Palermo, Gal. Reg. Sicilia). Mezzarisa was an astute businessman, and from 1540 he was assisted by Pietro di Francesco Zambaldini, a craftsman who specialized in glazes and paints. Among the most important commissions accorded to Mezzarisa was an order (1546) for more than 7000 articles for a Genoese merchant in Palermo. He also worked for the Ferrara court, where he became acquainted with the brothers and court painters Battista Dossi (...

(b Agen, Lot-et-Garonne, 1510; d Paris, 1590).

French glass painter and potter. He probably grew up in Gascony. He settled in Saintes in 1539 or 1540, after a decade of travelling all over France and neighbouring regions working as a peintre-vitrier (one who paints, assembles and installs stained-glass windows) and probably also as a surveyor. During the first decade of his time in Saintes he worked as a surveyor, glass painter and possibly as a portrait painter. In connection with the tax for the salt industry, he received a prestigious royal commission to survey and map the salt marshes of the Saintonge between May 1543 and May or June 1544. His real interest, however, was concentrated on the search for the means of making a white tin glaze such as one embellishing a cup that he had admired during his travels. This change in the direction of his artistic interests occurred when he first settled in Saintes, possibly in the house of ...

Italian family of potters. They were a dominant force in the production of maiolica in Urbino during the late 16th century and early 17th. Four members of the family signed their work, and dates range from 1580 to 1620. Antonio, Alfonso, Francesco and Vincenzo were involved in the family business, although Alfonso is also known to have painted in another workshop. The Patanazzi succeeded the renowned workshop belonging to the Fontana family and it is often difficult to differentiate between their wares, especially those of the period 1570 to 1585. Maiolica decorated with istoriato (narrative) scenes or figures with grotesque borders on a white ground rose in popularity during the mid-16th century. By the 1580s these were the most popular ceramics in the Urbino area, overshadowing the earlier, purely narrative wares. The Patanazzi embraced this decorative style, developed by Raphael, which combined human figures with fanciful monsters, cameos, garlands and other motifs found in the recently discovered ruins of ancient Rome....

(b Castel Durante, 1523–4; d Castel Durante, 1579).

Italian writer and maiolica painter. He came from a patrician family of Bolognese descent and was a humanist by education and an amateur devotee of the arts. He was also active as a dilettante poet, land surveyor, civil and military engineer and draughtsman. Between 1556 and 1559 he wrote Li tre libri dell’arte del vasaio—the earliest European treatise on maiolica production—at the request of Cardinal François de Tournon (1489–1562), who may have intended the treatise to help improve the quality of faience being manufactured in his native France. In this three-part treatise, Piccolpasso explained and illustrated in lively detail the basic procedures required for maiolica production; these procedures have remained largely unchanged during the ensuing centuries. He described the composition of glazes, pigments and lustres, the location and preparation of the raw materials, the methods for constructing the tools—including the wheel and kiln—and for forming, trimming, drying, painting and firing the wares. He also included a selection of designs for plate decoration that were popular during the first half of the 16th century. His other major literary work was a topographical description of Umbria entitled ...

Italian family of potters. Pietro (‘Pirotto’) Paterni was already working as a potter by 1460. His four sons, Matteo, Negro, Gianlorenzo and Gianfrancesco, all of whom were skilful maiolica painters, took their surname (Pirotti) and the name of their shop, Casa Pirota, from the nickname of their father. Their workshop was among the best known in Faenza during the first half of the 16th century. It was situated in the S Vitale district of the town, in the area of greatest concentration of the maiolica workshops. They specialized in the most refined, decorative techniques including the use of the berettino (blue) glaze and the production of articles decorated with grotesques on a dark-blue ground. They also produced work in the istoriato (narrative) style, the most outstanding of which is the goblet (1535; Bologna, Mus. Civ. Med.) depicting the Coronation of Charles V, inscribed underneath fata in caxa pirota. Documents referring to individual members of the family are plentiful: for example, ...

Term in use from the mid-19th century to describe a style of architecture and the decorative arts that flourished in the West from the early 19th century to early 20th. It was based on the arts of the Renaissance, initially of Italy (15th–16th centuries), and later on its regional manifestations (16th–17th centuries), principally of France and Germany.

Julius Fekete

The first impetus for the revival came from France, with the publication of Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand’s Précis de leçons d’architecture (1802–5) and Auguste-Henri Grandjean de Montigny’s L’Architecture de la Toscane (Paris, 1806–19), both of which cited examples from the Italian Renaissance. Early French buildings in a Roman Renaissance palazzo style include those in the Rue de Rivoli (begun 1802) by Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine, and the Ministère des Relations Extérieures (begun 1810; destr. 1871) in Paris by Jacques-Charles Bonnard (1765–1818). In Germany, where the Renaissance Revival was exclusively taken from Italian models until the mid-19th century, ...

(b Trent, April 1, 1470; d Padua, July 8, 1532).

Italian sculptor. He worked in terracotta and bronze, mostly on the small scale of statuettes, plaquettes and elegant domestic items such as inkstands and oil lamps. Usually regarded as the greatest exponent of this kind of work, he was a specialist in rendering themes of Classical mythology to the satisfaction of the erudite humanist professors of Padua University. His oeuvre is often neglected because of its small scale, but it constitutes one of the loftiest and most fascinating manifestations of the poetic paganism of the High Renaissance: the equivalent, and sometimes perhaps the inspiration, of the great Venetian mythological paintings of the period, by Giovanni Bellini, Cima, Giorgione and Titian. Riccio acted as an intermediary for the tradition of Donatello in bronze sculpture in Padua, a tradition that he learnt from his own master, Bartolomeo Bellano, and passed on to Sansovino family, §1 in Venice.

Riccio (‘curly head’) trained first in the workshop of his father, ...

(b Florence, ?Nov 13, 1474; d Tours, 1554).

Italian sculptor and painter, active also in France. He was of noble birth, and his artistic activities were those of a dilettante. No formal apprenticeship is recorded: although Vasari called him a pupil of Andrea del Verrocchio, this can only have been indirectly, for Verrocchio died in Venice in 1488, when Rustici was 14. His later collaboration with Leonardo da Vinci does suggest a mutual familiarity with Verrocchio’s workshop, which continued to operate after the master’s death. Certainly, the well-informed Pomponius Gauricus, in De sculptura (Padua, 1504), named him as one of the principal sculptors of Tuscany, with Maiano, Benedetto da, Andrea Sansovino and Michelangelo. Rustici also studied the Medici sculpture collection in the garden at S Marco in Florence, where, as an aristocrat, he would have been particularly welcome.

Probably because his social position made him more independent than the average artist, few of Rustici’s works are documented, although many have been identified from descriptions by Vasari, corroborated by stylistic comparisons. The earliest is a tightly designed marble bust of ...

[Fattorini]

Italian family of potters of Croatian origin. The name Fattorini was used only after 1516. The name Schiavon was the nickname for Filippo Rimiteri (b Zagreb, 1403; d ?Montelupo), who left Croatia to become a potter in Italy. His sons Stefano and Piero (d Cafaggiolo, c. 1507) made maiolica pitchers but moved to the Medici villa in Cafaggiolo near Florence where they established the Cafaggiolo Ceramic Factory in 1498. The family were in charge of this highly successful workshop for over 100 years. Stefano had several sons, including Jacopo (b Cafaggiolo, c. 1490; d Cafaggiolo, after 1576), who was in charge of the factory from 1568 and who worked with his brothers Domenico, Michele, Alessandro, Matteo and Giovanni. Works by Jacopo include several fine istoriato (narrative) dishes and a roundel depicting Judith and her Maidservant (London, V&A). Works by the family are signed with an ...