Zecchin & Martinuzzi Biography
The "Zecchin-Martinuzzi" glassworks was founded in 1932 by the sculptor Napoleone Martinuzzi and the engineer Francesco Zecchin, both coming from Venini, where Martinuzzi had held the role of artistic director since 1926. The company's production immediately differentiated itself from other glassworks of Murano, both for the models clearly inspired by the twentieth century, and for the use of thick and opaque materials such as pastes, "pulegoso" glass and "crudo" glass (irregular glass with numerous air bubbles due to a incomplete cooking).
Despite going against the tradition of light and transparent glass, the company achieved considerable critical acclaim and was the subject of extensive coverage by Domus magazine, considered an example of rebirth for Murano glass art. He was present at the Venice Biennales of 1932 and 1934 with a series of vases, plants and figures created mainly by the masters Otello Nason and Alfredo Barbini.
However, the company found itself facing various economic difficulties and in 1936 Napoleone Martinuzzi decided to leave the company to dedicate himself completely to his passion for sculpture. The engineer Francesco Zecchin continued the activity following the same initial approach, but closed definitively in 1939. The history of the "Zecchin-Martinuzzi" glass factory, although short, represented one of the most significant episodes for the rebirth of Murano glass art during the years between the two wars. It also had indirect developments in the following years, especially thanks to the collaboration between Napoleone Martinuzzi and Alfredo Barbini, which contributed to the authoritative artistic development of the latter during his period spent in this furnace.