Ercole Barovier (Murano, 1889 - Venice 1974)
Ercole Barovier was born in Murano (Venice) on June 16, 1889, into a family engaged in glassmaking for generations. Despite these roots, he initially pursued a classical education, completely removed from the world of artistic glass.
Only in his thirties did he join the Vetreria Artistica Barovier & C., working alongside his father Benvenuto and his uncle Giuseppe. In 1926, he took over the artistic direction of the company. Ten years later, in 1936, he joined the Ferro Toso furnace as managing partner and artistic director, which from then on would take the name Barovier & Toso. He remained at the helm of artistic production until just a few years before his death, which occurred in Venice on May 19, 1974.
He had an unusual profile: neither a master glassmaker nor a designer in the modern sense of the term, Barovier stood out as a tireless experimenter of glass’s expressive potential. He researched, reinterpreted, and applied traditional techniques in the furnace, establishing himself as a key figure in the innovation of Murano glass in the twentieth century.
His early works were marked by vibrant polychromes inspired by the Secessionist style, though inevitably featuring simple, essential forms. In the early 1920s, he created glass sculptures depicting stylised human figures and animals in a Deco taste, succulents - in dialogue with the models proposed by Napoleone Martinuzzi for Venini - and colourful murrine vases with floral motifs.
The well-known Primavera series dates back to 1929: glass with a whitish colouration, streaks, and craquelure, contrasted with black filaments, resulting from a mixture that the furnace was never able to replicate again.
In the 1930s, he continued to experiment with new techniques, including the addition of non-fusible substances to the crucible to achieve hot colouration without melting. He also introduced, at a time when blown glass dominated, the use of thick glass, helping to renew the Murano repertoire.
One of his most recognisable innovations is the so-called vetri rostrati, characterised by a spiked and irregular surface, still produced by the furnace today. Another notable innovation bearing his signature is the vetri rostrati, with their distinctive spiked surface, which remain in production.
Ercole Barovier died in Venice on May 19, 1974. He was succeeded in the company’s leadership by his only son, Angelo, who had already been working alongside him for some time.