DOI issue:
No.127 (October, 1903)
DOI article:Studio-talk
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19880#0094
Studio- Talk
the Southern climate that
gives them birth. In
furniture the practical and
simple convenience of
English construction is
frankly adopted; but the
form, line, and ornament,
the peculiar Southern ele-
gance of style, are essen-
tially Italian. In contrast
to Northern severity, the
decorative work of the
Sicilian craftsman leans
towards the richness of
ornament characteristic of
the Middle Ages, both
here and in Venice.
Hence the frequent intro-
duction of carving, bas-
reliefs, painting, and
coloured woods. Nor is
there any fear of a lapse
into archaic taste ; Nature
is faithfully studied as the
inexhaustible source of
fresh inspiration in struc-
ture and decoration; re-
liance on tradition is rigidly
banned. The fundamental
principles of the revival
in Sicily are identical with
those in the North—rebel-
lion against the tyranny of
art exhibition room designed by e. basile the PaSt> & SearCn f°r
decoration (carved oak) executed by the " maison ducrot" new forms of expression
in harmony with the spirit
of the people. Artistic
The centre and leader of the art movement in endeavour on this basis is now universal through-
Sicily is Ernesto Basile, an architect of great out Europe, and I have therefore brought its out-
learning and taste, essentially modern, inexhaustibly come in Sicily to the notice of the readers of The
inventive, many sided, but thorough. In archi- Studio.
tecture he long since broke with academic tradition,
translating Sicilian mediaeval tendencies into forms Among the firms who exhibited at Turin, that
suited to modern requirements. The corre- of Ducrot, of Palermo, deserved attention, and
sponding aims of the firm of Ducrot in the received a diploma of merit, though the objects
treatment of furniture enabled him to carry out his exhibited were its earliest attempts in a new direc-
ideas in detail. The co-operation of two painters tion. The aim of this firm is clearly defined; its
—De Maria Bergler and Enea—and of a sculptor, efforts are not merely tentative, but are based on a
A. Ugo (known to the readers of The Studio), comprehensive, organic scheme of artistic decora-
has made this establishment a perfect centre of tion applied to every purpose, from architecture
applied art. The undertaking—a labour of love itself down to the humblest domestic uses. After
—though still in its infancy bears the stamp of its first diffident appearance at Turin, Sicily made
genuine vitality ; and, with all their seriousness, the a better show at the International Exhibition at
designs have a lightness characteristically suited to Venice in the decoration of the rooms devoted to
77
the Southern climate that
gives them birth. In
furniture the practical and
simple convenience of
English construction is
frankly adopted; but the
form, line, and ornament,
the peculiar Southern ele-
gance of style, are essen-
tially Italian. In contrast
to Northern severity, the
decorative work of the
Sicilian craftsman leans
towards the richness of
ornament characteristic of
the Middle Ages, both
here and in Venice.
Hence the frequent intro-
duction of carving, bas-
reliefs, painting, and
coloured woods. Nor is
there any fear of a lapse
into archaic taste ; Nature
is faithfully studied as the
inexhaustible source of
fresh inspiration in struc-
ture and decoration; re-
liance on tradition is rigidly
banned. The fundamental
principles of the revival
in Sicily are identical with
those in the North—rebel-
lion against the tyranny of
art exhibition room designed by e. basile the PaSt> & SearCn f°r
decoration (carved oak) executed by the " maison ducrot" new forms of expression
in harmony with the spirit
of the people. Artistic
The centre and leader of the art movement in endeavour on this basis is now universal through-
Sicily is Ernesto Basile, an architect of great out Europe, and I have therefore brought its out-
learning and taste, essentially modern, inexhaustibly come in Sicily to the notice of the readers of The
inventive, many sided, but thorough. In archi- Studio.
tecture he long since broke with academic tradition,
translating Sicilian mediaeval tendencies into forms Among the firms who exhibited at Turin, that
suited to modern requirements. The corre- of Ducrot, of Palermo, deserved attention, and
sponding aims of the firm of Ducrot in the received a diploma of merit, though the objects
treatment of furniture enabled him to carry out his exhibited were its earliest attempts in a new direc-
ideas in detail. The co-operation of two painters tion. The aim of this firm is clearly defined; its
—De Maria Bergler and Enea—and of a sculptor, efforts are not merely tentative, but are based on a
A. Ugo (known to the readers of The Studio), comprehensive, organic scheme of artistic decora-
has made this establishment a perfect centre of tion applied to every purpose, from architecture
applied art. The undertaking—a labour of love itself down to the humblest domestic uses. After
—though still in its infancy bears the stamp of its first diffident appearance at Turin, Sicily made
genuine vitality ; and, with all their seriousness, the a better show at the International Exhibition at
designs have a lightness characteristically suited to Venice in the decoration of the rooms devoted to
77