Studio: international art (90.1925)

MONZA—NEW YORK

MONZA. — The second International
Exhibition of the Decorative Arts,
which is open from May to October of the
present year in that magnificent palace, the
Villa Reale of Monza, is even on a larger
scale than that of 1923, the rooms occupied
numbering this time well over 200.
Decorative Art—it has been well said—
is here no longer the Cinderella of the
arts, but, thanks to the efforts of the
" Consorzio Milano-Monza-Umanitaria" "
and the energy of its director, Onor. Guido
Marangoni, she claims and holds that
equal place among the sister arts, which
was sought for her years ago in England
by that great initiator, William Morris.
In this necessarily brief survey let us see
what are the main features of the present
display, a 0 a 0 » a
Here Italy claims, of course, a front
place ; and once again I was delighted
with her regional displays, especially in
rooms devoted to the Abruzzi, Puglia and
Sicily. The tradition of the arte paesana,
handed down for generations, appears here
in forms of great decorative beauty, whose
simplicity of design is part of its charm,
especially in the embroideries in wool or
cotton on linen, the design in some cases
being burnt in, leaving a white pattern
against the warm rich brown ground.
Here too the ceramics claim attention, as
well as in the Ligurian rooms ; though
Faenza, with her great art tradition, dating
from the cinquecento, and the beautiful
display of the Societa Richard-Ginori are
not to be overlooked. The section of the
Italian colonies (Eritrea) with the usual
leather work and embroideries is of less
interest, and the " Mostra degli Orafi "
(jewellery) scarcely reaches the high level
of that choice little display of 1923 ; on
the other hand, the " Sala della Mensa,"
located in the vast banquet rocm of
Ferdinand II., once again shows us the
ideal dining table, spread with choicest
linen and exquisite glass from Murano,
fine in design, delicate and light, and yet
wonderfully strong. 0000
I leave now the Italian sections to give
some attention to the foreign sections,
which come well into the picture, even
though the claims of Paris this year have
been against Monza. This can be the
only excuse that Great Britain is not even
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yet represented as she should be, though
this year we have three rooms, and the
hand-woven fabrics from the Casa Morris
and those contributed by Messrs. Foxton
are good of their kind. Once again the
posters come to our aid ; but let us hope
that in 1925, with Paris aside, we shall
show something worthy of our great
decorative tradition. France is excellent,
furniture and tapestries refined and in
perfect keeping, and Germany is ex-
traordinarily rich, her ceramics and white
metal in good designs being noticeable.
Hungary is here again, with her rich fabrics
almost Oriental in feeling; Belgium,
Jugoslavia, with peasant industries ;
Poland, Lithuania, Finland, even Morocco
and Mexico, a a a 0 a

S. B.

NEW YORK.—One hundred years ago,
on the 8th of November, 1825,
a number of young artists and students
established the New York Drawing Asso-
ciation, and shortly after the same group
organised themselves, on January 19th,
1826, as the National Academy of Design,
composed of fifteen artists who chose
fifteen others, the whole body of thirty
being known as the Founders of the

GARDEN VASE BY L. CKISTOFORO
EXHIBITED BY THE SOCIETA
CERAMICA RICHARD-GINORI

(Internat. Exhn. of Decorative Arts
Monza)