.jpg)  Top: Casa Galimberti byGiovanni Battista Bossi: Bottom: Cobra chair and writing desk byCarlo Bugatti | |
| Years active | c. 1890–1920 |
|---|---|
| Location | Italy |
Liberty style (Italian:stile Liberty[ˈstiːleˈliːberti]) was the Italian variant ofArt Nouveau, which flourished between about 1890 and 1914. It was also sometimes known asstile floreale ("floral style"),arte nuova ("new art"), orstile moderno ("modern style" not to be confused with the Spanish variant of Art Nouveau which isArt Nouveau in Madrid). It took its name fromArthur Lasenby Liberty and the store he founded in 1874 in London,Liberty Department Store, which specialized in importing ornaments, textiles and art objects from Japan and the Far East. Major Italian designers using the style includedErnesto Basile,Ettore De Maria Bergler, Vittorio Ducrot,Carlo Bugatti,Raimondo D'Aronco,Eugenio Quarti, andGalileo Chini.
Liberty style was especially popular in large cities outside ofRome (the capital) which were eager to establish a distinct cultural identity, particularlyMilan,Palermo andTurin, the city wherethe first major exposition of the style in Italy was held in 1902. This marked a major event and featured works of both Italian designers and other Art Nouveau designers from around Europe.[1]
Liberty style, like other versions of Art Nouveau, had the ambition of turning ordinary objects, such as chairs and windows, into works of art. Unlike the French and Belgian Art Nouveau, based primarily on nature, Liberty style was more strongly influenced by theBaroque style, with very lavish ornament and color, both on the interior and exterior.[2] The Italian poet and criticGabriele d'Annunzio wrote in 1889, as the style was just beginning, "the genial sensual debauche of the Baroque sensibility is one of the determining variants of the Italian Art Nouveau."[3]
Liberty style is considered to be a western offshoot of the 19th-century BritishArts and Crafts movement,[4] which was a response against the mechanization and dehumanizing of the artistic process.
The first examples of the liberty style in Italy are found inPalermo, in particular Villa Favaloro, and in the large building ofTeatro Massimo and in its square with kiosks in this style dating back to the end of the nineteenth century. In particular, two architects were the first representatives of this new style:Giovan Battista Filippo Basile and his sonErnesto Basile.
The 1902 Turin Exposition, formally titled,Torino 1902: Le Arti Decorative Internazionali Del Nuovo Secolo, was the signature event of the style. It included designers from the United States, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, England, France, Holland, Norway, Austria, Scotland, Sweden and Hungary. Those displaying their works includedVictor Horta, the pioneer Art Nouveau architect and furniture designer from Brussels. who displayed rooms with sets of furniture.
The Liberty style in interior design and furniture had three distinct tendencies. The first was very floral and sculptural, following the model of England and France. The major designers in this style were Vittorio Valebrega and Agostino Lauro, and particularly the furniture manufacturer Valabrega, which produced works in series. A second tendency was more discrete, and was similar to designs of the BritishArts and Crafts movement, with linear forms, simplicity, and artisanal quality. The major designers in this school wereErnesto Basile andGiacomo Cometti.[5]
The third tendency was for forms that were much more original and exotic, often derived from the styles of North Africa and the Middle East. These works were The most influential designer in this style wasCarlo Bugatti, a member of a large family of artists and father ofEttore Bugatti, the automobile designer. His works first reached international attention at the 1902 Turin Exposition. His furniture was thoroughly original, having little or no reference to other European versions of Art Nouveau. He used an extremely wide range of materials in his furniture, including ivory and rare woods. He was particularly fond of the keyhole form. His cobra chair, was inspired by the chairs of African chieftains, and was made of tropical woods, painted parchment and hammered copper.[6]
Bugatti's theory was that any object, no matter what its function, could be transformed into a work of art. An unusual example of the theory that anything could be made into a work of art is the statue of dancing elephant byRembrandt Bugatti, the son of Carlo Bugatti, in 1908. In 1928, in a version made of silver, it was turned into a radiator cap for the Bugatti Royale automobile.[6]
Another notable designer of Liberty style furniture wasEugenio Quarti, who had won a prize at theParis Universal Exposition of 1900. He apprenticed in Paris and worked for a time in the studio ofCarlo Bugatti, but soon departed from Bugatti's exoticism and worked in a more classical style. He used traditional fine woods, such asmahogany andwalnut, combined with inlays of ivory, and brass, glass, and other modern elements.[7]
The architecture of the Liberty style was more closely akin to theBaroque style. with a lavish excess of external ornament.Pietro Fenoglio was one of the early figures in Liberty style architecture, with theCasa Fenoglio-Lafleur inTurin, which added Art Nouveau elements onto a more traditional facade.[8] InPalermo the major figure wasErnesto Basile, who used curved forms similar to the Belgian-French Art Nouveau combined withsymbolist murals, as in the Grand Hotel Villa Igiea (1899–1900). Basile also combined elements of a medieval castle with Liberty decoration to create theVillino Florio in Palermo (1899–1902).[9]
Milan had a large number of Liberty style houses. The most prominent architects includedGiovanni Battista Bossi, whose Casa Galimberti had a facade drenched with decorative sculpture and murals. The decoration seemed to have been poured over the building. The sculpture somewhat recalls the work of the Renaissance painterGiuseppe Archimboldo.
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A distinctive element of Liberty style was the use offrescoes for the interior and exterior decoration. One example is found inLivorno in the decoration of the thermal baths at Acque della Salute. The frescos were painted byErnesto Bellandi (1842-1916).
Painted interiors were a speciality ofErnesto Basile of Palermo, an architect devoted special attention to the fusion of the architecture decoration in the interiors. He created a series of villas around Palermo between 1899 and 1901.[2][9]
Interior decoration in the Liberty style continued longer in Italy than in other parts of Europe. An example is the decoration of interiors byGalileo Chini on the themes of autumn and spring, painted in 1922 for theTerme Berzieri inSalsomaggiore.[10]
Glass and ceramics were important components of the Liberty style. Italian glass art particularly drew upon the tradition ofMurano glass, from Venice.Galileo Chini was the dominant figure in glassware and ceramics. He created decorative floral designs which were produced in stained glass,majolica or ceramics. In 1897 he founded the Florentine Society of Ceramic Arts, and between 1902 and 1914 he decorated the salons of theVenice Biennale. He also became the chair of the department of decoration in the Italian Academy of Fine Arts. He was called toBangkok in 1911–13 to decorate the throne room of the royal palace there.[10] Later works by Chini, with more geometric rather than natural designs, showed the growing influence of the more geometric style of theVienna Secession and the work ofGustav Klimt.[10]
As in France and other parts of Europe, the poster and other graphic arts was an important genre of the Liberty style, particularly for travel posters.Leonetto Cappiello was an important figure in the early style, though he moved to Paris and spent most of his career designing posters and graphics there.Leonardo Bistolfi designed the poster for the1902 Exposition in Turin, with the combination of feminine and floral themes typical of the early style.[11]
In its later years, the Liberty Style in graphics and painting moved away from floral and feminine themes to more modernist subjects, under the influence ofFuturism. The painter and graphic artistUmberto Boccioni became one of the major figures in Futurism.
Italian designers in the 1950s committed to revive expressive forms inspired by nature while showing respect for local craft tradition. Among the prominent members of theNeo-liberty style movement was the designerCarlo Mollino.[12]
