194 - Italy (20th century)

Italy (20th century) View of Arona on Lake Maggiore, View of Pallanza, Glimpse of Orta San Giulio with the Broletto Heliographs on paper 45 x 63 cm (the dimensions of each piece, with minor variations) Provenance: Veneto Banca SpA in LCA Condition. Support: 70% (creases, moisture damage, and impact damage) Condition. Surface: 80% (moisture damage, mold) For direct WhatsApp assistance before and during the live auction: +39 346 12 999 80 // Direct assistance via WhatsApp before and during the auction: +39 346 12 999 80 Up for auction is an example of an artistic chiaroscuro watermark created by Luigi Casoni for the historic Miliani Paper Mill in Fabriano, based on a reworked design of the Fontana Sturinalto in Fabriano. As Annarita Librari notes, “Under Giuseppe Miliani (1816–1890), grandson of Pietro (1744–1817), founder of the Miliani company, the paper mill expanded; drawing paper established itself as the finest—so much so that it won an award at the 1851 London Exhibition—and security paper began to be the Fabriano factory’s specialty. By the time of Giuseppe’s death, the paper mill was already a large complex, but it would be his son Giambattista (1856–1937) who would carry out the actual transformation from an artisanal to an industrial enterprise (...). Giambattista combined technical expertise with a broad vision of industrial organization, thanks to the frequent trips he took—beginning at a very young age—to various European countries and North America. In 1889, he received the Legion of Honor for presenting the finest watermarks for banknotes at the Paris Exposition. Even before this recognition in Paris, there was genuine enthusiasm for Fabriano’s watermarks. In 1886, Ernst Kirchner of Frankfurt am Main wrote: “Your watermarked papers are the most beautiful I have ever seen. Ever since I’ve owned these truly artistic sheets, I no longer even dare to look at similar products from Germany. The portraits, as well as the details that adorn them, are of admirable, perfect finesse and now form the centerpiece of this modest collection, which I cherish with great pride.” In the field of artistic light-and-dark watermarks for banknotes, Giambattista initially enlisted the help of Prof. Bianchi of Rome—a medalist for the Sacred Apostolic Palaces—for wax engraving; Bianchi would send the commissioned wax blocks directly from Rome to Fabriano. Subsequently, his foresight and provident planning led him to establish a wax engraving department within the Watermark Workshop of the Fabriano paper mills, where he assigned young and skilled artists who were able to fully meet the company’s needs. The founder of this school was Serafino Cilotti (1868–1943), who created works of remarkable artistic impact, considered a new form of figurative art expressed through wax, Angelo Bellocchi (1880–1939) and Virgilio Brozzesi (1869–1946). Aldo Frezzi (1885–1972), (...) Eraldo Librari (1907–1988), and Luigi Filomena. Luigi Casoni worked as an engraver for Miliani until 1958, when he was hired by the Bank of Italy to engrave the “portraits” on banknotes.” (Annarita Librari, “Once Upon a Time… the Artistic Watermark in Chiaroscuro”). The history of the Miliani paper mill has been reconstructed by Bruno Bravetti in the monograph “Giambattista Miliani,” Affinità Elettive, 2010. The date, 1954, refers to the matrix.