16th - 18th Century Castelli Ceramics from Italian Collections

On 20 December 2005, an exhibition opened which was organized by the State Hermitage together with the Province of Teramo; the Abruzzo Region; the Municipality of Teramo; the Municipality of Castelli; and the Ceramics Museum of Castelli, - with the participation and support of the Barbella Museum of Art (Chieti), the National Museum of Abruzzo (Aquila), the Fuschi Collection (Castelli), the Terregna Collection, the Giacomini Collection (Rome), the Cerulli Irelli Collection (Teramo), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Italian Republic, the General Consulate of the Italian Republic in St Petersburg, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Teramo, and also the Bank of Cooperative Credit of Teramo.

Castelli is a small Italian city in the Teramo mountains of the Abruzzo Region. This is where during the 16th to 18th centuries a majolica was created which could compete with the output of celebrated Italian majolica production centers like Urbino, Faenza, Deruta Castel-Durante, Pesaro and Monteluppo.

Sixty pieces of majolica from Castelli are displayed in the exhibition. These include apothecary vessels - pitchers, Albarelli, vases which served as storage containers for medicinal herbs and potions while decorating the interiors of pharmacies. In addition to apothecary majolica, other especially interesting items are ceramic tiles from the city of Castelli, where the Church of San Donato is found. The ceiling of that building is decorated with tiles made in a manner similar to the painted vases of Orsini-Colonna. In the 17th century, the painting on apothecary majolica from Castelli showed a decorative style which was called compendiario.

Later a new style of painting was developed which has a color range like water colors. The variety of subjects depicted was enriched with the addition of genre scenes from daily life in agrarian communities as well as very finely executed landscapes, often with depiction of Antique ruins. Compared to the richly colored majolica ceramics of the Renaissance, Castelli majolica of the 17th and 18th centuries is noted for its pale tones. One interesting master of this period was Antonio Lollo. The greatest artistic achievements in the 17th and 18th centuries were made by the families of Grue, Gentille and Capelleti, who produced majolica in Castelli for the entire two hundred years.

An exhibition catalogue has been prepared by the Italian side.

The curator of the exhibition is Elena Nikolaevna Ivanova, senior researcher of the Department of History of Western European Art and doctor of art history.

More

At the opening of the exhibition

At the exhibition

At the exhibition

The exhibition catalogue