The secrets and creative innovations related to glass paste, one of the oldest and most unique manufacturing techniques, are highlighted in a large exhibition dedicated to the French artist Amalric Walter (Sèvres, 1870 – Lury-sur-Arnon, 1959) and to his production, with an unprecedented completeness and richness of works.
Already mastered in ancient times by the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, and also known by the great Murano glassmakers, this technique experienced a new impulse in France between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, in a period of great ferment for the visual, decorative and plastics. It is in this context that, after trials and experiments, also relying on studies by predecessors such as Henry Cros and Albert Dammouse, Amalric Walter obtains the mysterious "binder", jealously guarded by the masters.
The exhibition AMALRIC WALTER The rediscovery of glass paste is curated by Paolo Bellomo and Carlo Mitarotonda.
But who was it Amalric Walter?
Amalric was a 1870th century French glassmaker. Born in 1903, he began his training as a potter at the Sèvres manufactory. In 1906, he presented the first objects in glass paste at the French Artists' Salon. He moved to Nancy in XNUMX, where he integrated the Daum glassware and passed on his know-how. The creative impulse begins with the reproduction of copies of tanagres and other antiques, according to the reproductions brought from Vienna by Antonino Daum. He creates female nudes but also objects with motifs extracted from the faun: beetles, chameleons, green lizards, lizards, fish, crabs, frogs, snails, mice, bats, etc. Alongside these creations there is a range of different objects, represented by vases, bowls, vide poche, bookends, clipboard, inkwells, boxes, wedding favors etc. With the help of Henri Berger, chief decorator at Daum, he creates more than one hundred glass paste models in bright colors and in the Art Deco style. His collaboration with Daum will last until 1915. In the meantime, he receives the diploma of honor at the Universal Exhibition of 1900 and the gold medal at the Exhibitions of Nancy in 1909 and Brussels in 1910.
After the First World War, he set up on his own in Nancy, pursuing the production of glass paste with the same technique and the same models as those used by Daum, to which were added the statuettes of Buddha, fauns, Isadora Duncan , busts and heads of girls for example. It is possible to separate the two periods, as there is an evolution of colour: the palette now consists of more artificial colors which make the objects almost surreal – a green bird, a black butterfly or a blue fish. Unlike colleagues who practice the same technique, Walter's glass pastes have a particularly high weight, due to the percentage of lead used in the paste, which reaches around 50%. Engraved in the paste "A Walter Nancy" almost always followed by the name of the sculptor who supplied the model. His career is at its apogee in the 1920s, marked by an enthusiasm for objects in glass paste. In 1926, an official text in Nancy declares him "creator of the progress of glass paste".
In the early 1930s, glass paste began to fall out of fashion and Walter was forced to reduce his production and his staff. With the Second World War, all traces of Walter's work were lost. Today his works are present in numerous museums.
Glass Museum – Fondamenta Giustinian, 8 – Murano (Venice)
Open to the public: until 12 May 2013
Schedule: every day from 1 April 10am to 18pm (ticket office 10am to 17.30pm);
