The church of St. Mary constitutes a true treasure trove of unknown Chini works, starting with the interesting baptismal font dating back to the twenties of the last century. A wrought iron gate, decorated with the well-known geometric motifs inspired by Klimt, protects the font decorated with polychrome tiles; the latter are also inspired by the geometric motifs of Viennese Jugendstil and belonging to the production repertoire of the San Lorenzo Furnaces designed by Galileo Chini. On the wall, instead, we admire a ceramic panel depicting the Baptism of Christ, obtained from the same cartoon, probably by Tito Chini, used…
Author: Andrea Pelosi
The medieval Vallombrosan abbey preserves an interesting baptismal font consisting of a decorated basin with motifs inspired by the Middle Ages, while on the wall there is a panel of tiles depicting the Baptism of Christ. This scene, on which the mark of the San Lorenzo Furnaces is still visible, is treated like a maiolica painting and is probably the work of Tito Chini around 1940. The work, once again, demonstrates the author’s ability to harmonize elements drawn from artistic tradition, starting with iconography, with a more modern, stylized, and decorative taste. Scheda di Marco Pinelli Foto di Marta…
Inside the Marian sanctuary of Quadalto, not far from Palazzuolo, we can admire a beautiful wrought iron gate that closes off the three chapels at the back. Built with a simple and geometric structure, except for the elegant curved top interrupted by candelabras, it was executed according to the design by Dino Chini at the beginning of the last century. Scheda di Marco Pinelli Foto di Marta Magherini © Il Filo – Idee e Notizie dal Mugello Progetto Itinerario Liberty Mugello – Unione montana dei Comuni del Mugello
Among the most extraordinary decorative achievements of the Chini family in the Mugello region, undoubtedly stands the chapel of the fallen in Palazzuolo sul Senio, created by Tito Chini in 1925, pouring all his art into it and utilizing products from the San Lorenzo Furnaces. A large wrought iron gate decorated with elements typical of the Chini geometric repertoire, the chapel’s interior is enriched with vegetal festoons, and a remarkable floor composed of geometrically patterned tiles, while the walls boast lush vegetal decoration combined with geometric motifs that also extend to the vault, from which hangs the wrought iron and…
The plaque, made of polychrome majolica and metallic luster, bears an inscription declaring its belonging to the local National Veterans Association and is accompanied by two coats of arms, respectively of the Savoy, rulers of Italy, and of the association itself. A work of substantially serial production, datable to the first half of the 1920s, but of appreciable execution quality, it demonstrates the care and attention placed by the workshop in all its productions, in this case noticeable, for example, in the presence of refined diamond-shaped decorations, almost its signature. Scheda di Marco Pinelli Foto di Marta Magherini © Il…
On the entrance door of the church of San Michele in Ferrone, there is an image of the blessing Christ, whose solemn and iconic figure, depicted bust-length and blessing, echoes the Pantocrator painted by Galileo in the apse of the Borgo San Lorenzo parish church in 1906. The lunette, executed with painted tiles, however, can be attributed to the design of Tito Chini in the 1930s. Embedded in the facade, we can also see the sandstone plaque that Augusto Chini executed in 1926 to celebrate the seventh centenary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, whose prototype is still…
Inside the loggia in front of the church of San Michele in Lumena, we can admire an evocative “monument to the fallen of the Great War” of the small parish community. The long dedicatory inscription bears the date 1925, to which the work can be attributed. It is framed by a refined terracotta decoration in Renaissance style. But the most significant part of the complex is the remarkable pointed lunette with the image of Christ in pietà emerging from the tomb, composed of multiple adjacent elements. The subject directly derives from the one created by Galileo for the facade of…
A significant testimony of the art of the Chini generation preceding that of Galileo is the rich painted decoration of the ground floor hall of the Michelozzo-style Medici villa in Cafaggiolo, commissioned in 1887 by the then owner Prince Marcantonio Borghese to the brothers Leto and Dario Chini. The decoration consists of a series of coats of arms of nobility and social status, executed in a distinctly neo-medieval style, according to the taste of the time and in harmony with the architectural characteristics of the building. The two brothers show particular skill in this type of work, which, essentially based…
On the façade of the solitary church of S. Maria in Collebarucci stands a large ceramic cross composed of various pieces, including a frame with classical ovals surrounding a spiral decoration. At the center of the cross is a plaque with the Christological monogram IHS. Of particular interest are the four circular plaques depicting the Tetramorph, the traditional symbols of the Evangelists. These are refined images with remarkable graphic and chromatic strength, attributable to Tito Chini in the 1920S. The overall effect is one of chromatic liveliness that enlivens the simple and austere façade of the church. Scheda di…
On the back wall of the central chapel of the medieval parish church of San Michele in Montecuccoli, two brilliant polychrome stained glass windows depicting Saint John the Baptist and Saint Michael the Archangel can be admired, created by the Chini Workshop in the second half of the 1920s. The solemn and hieratic figure of the Baptist follows a model designed by Galileo, with the addition, at the bottom of the coat of arms, of the Archbishop of Florence, Alfonso Maria Mistrangelo, who led the diocese until 1930. San Michele Arcangelo – Vetrata policroma – Chini , Fornaci San Lorenzo…
