Paolo De Poli (1 August 1905 – 21 September 1996) was an Italian enameller and painter.
If we can speak of an Italian art of enamel, it is thanks to De Poli, to the road he opened up and followed faithfully, to the example of his orthodox technique, to his sureness of touch, to the esteem and admiration he has won. And we should to be grateful to him for this also. Gio Ponti[1]
Biography
Born in Padua, and after an early training in drawing and embossing on metal at the art school Pietro Selvatico of Padua and in oil painting in the studio of the Trentini painters in Verona, De Poli began a career as portrait and landscape painter.[2] In 1926 he participated for the first time in the XV Venice Biennale with the oil Still life.[3] In the thirties during his travels and visits to art museums and archaeological sites he has been exposed to the traditional and ancient art of vitreous enamel. Fascinated by these experiences, from 1933 onwards he devoted himself to creative works of enamels on metal. At first he experimented with small refined decorative objects of many shapes in brilliant colors. By improving the technique, he mastered the craft and reached the highest levels of innovation. In the forties he collaborated with Gio Ponti in the production of furniture[4] and decorative panels. Later their collaboration led to new objects of design and animal motifs[5] in sculptural forms. In addition to production of vases, bowls, trays, plates, cups, plaques and doorhandles in enamel on copper, he also worked on large panels for decorating the interiors of ships and ocean liners, hotels, universities, public buildings and homes of collectors, in Italy and abroad. Many works are the result of collaborations with architects-designers, such as Gio Ponti, Guglielmo Ulrich (it), Melchiorre Bega (it), and artists such as Filippo De Pisis, Bruno Saetti,[6]Gino Severini, and Roberto Aloi.[7]
He also dedicated himself to executing altarpieces and cycles of panels on the theme of the Stations of the Cross, preserved in churches of Padua,[8]Abano Terme, Bergamo and Treviso. His creations were displayed in the main International Exhibition: Brussels in 1935, in Paris in 1937, in New York in 1939, and in several decorative shows and art fairs as those held in Florence, Cairo, Helsinki, Monaco, London, Oslo, Stockholm, Beirut etc. as part of the expression of the Italian style. He exhibited his enamel works 14 times at the Venice Biennale[9] and 10 times at the Milan Triennale.[10] As for the modern productions of Murano glasses and Faenza majolica, many of his works in enamel on copper, as wall panels and design objects, now belong to the permanent collection of important museums of decorative arts and design.[11]
He has always been actively involved in the defence of the cultural heritage and in the promotion[12] and protection of arts and crafts through associations and boards. From 1960 to 1973 he served as member of the board of directors of the Milan Triennale. In 1970 he was decorated with the title Cavaliere del Lavoro.[13] He died in Padua. His personal archive of designs, prototypes, photographs and correspondence is entrusted to the Archivio Progetti of IUAV University of Venice.
Table, enamel and wood,(in collaboration with Gio Ponti), Brooklyn Museum, New York, c. 1942[14]
The four seasons, enamel panels (in collaboration with Gio Ponti), first class hall of the SS Conte Grande of the Società di Navigazione Italia, 1949.[15]
Arlecchino, enamel panel (in collaboration with Gio Ponti), ship SS Conte Biancamano of the Società di Navigazione Italia, 1949.[15]
Panel of Saint'Anthony and Panel of the Virgin Mary, enamel panel, design by the painter Pino Casarini, Chiesa del Sacro Cuore, Abano Terme (Padua), 1964.
^as the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the Mart of Trento, the Modern Art Museum Ca' Pesaro of Venezia, the Wolfsoniana Collection of Genova, the Musei Civici of Padua, Italy
Alberto Bassi and Serena Maffioletti, Paolo De Poli artigiano, imprenditore, designer, Il Poligrafo, Padova, 2017 (ISBN978-88-9387-048-1).
Alberto Bassi and Valeria Cafà, Paolo De Poli e Gio Ponti: l’artigiano-designer e l’architetto, Universalia, Pordenone, 2019 (ISBN978-88-941359-3-0). (in Italian)
