Paolo Venini

Paolo Venini (1895–1959) was an Italian glassmaker and entrepreneur, a central figure in the development of the Venetian glass industry and the founder of Venini, the company that still bears his name and remains renowned to this day. Born in Milan and trained as a lawyer, Venini entered the world of glass through his collaboration with the Venetian antique dealer Giacomo Cappellin. In 1921 the two decided to establish a glassworks in Murano, appointing the painter Vittorio Zecchin as artistic director and orienting production toward Neoclassical and Renaissance inspirations. For the newly founded glassworks, known as VSM, Venini handled commercial and representative roles before striking out on his own in 1925, founding a new furnace and entrusting its artistic direction to Napoleone Martinuzzi. Toward the end of the 1920s, Venini’s glassworks became known for introducing important technical innovations such as pulegoso glass—characterized by the inclusion of countless small bubbles within the glass structure for decorative effect. A close friend of Gio Ponti, who vigorously promoted the glassworks’ activities in the pages of Domus, the magazine he directed, Venini liked to surround himself with the leading designers of the time and to experiment with ever-new techniques, presenting them with great success at several editions of the Milan Triennale. Among the most important collaborations were those with Tomaso Buzzi, who introduced the use of gold leaf in glass; with Carlo Scarpa, who fostered a revival and modernization of the traditional murrina technique; and with Fulvio Bianconi, a key figure in the bold and imaginative experiments of the 1950s. Paolo Venini also occasionally worked as a designer himself, and he co-authored—together with Bianconi—a vase that has become a symbol of the brand: the extraordinary Fazzoletto model (1949/50), which gives glass the lively, pliable appearance of a delicate piece of fabric.