Mid-Century Modern Pair of Double Seguso Blue Murano Glass Handles, Venice 1951

Giuseppe Santomaso was born in Venice on September 26, 1907. He studied at the Accademia Di Belle Arti from 1932 to 1934. In 1938 he began his work in graphic design. In 1939, the artist traveled to Paris on the occasion of his first solo exhibition at the Rive Gauche Galerie. Santomaso participates in the Quadrennial of Rome in 1943 and performs illustrations for Paul Eluard. In 1946, he is a founding member of the anti-fascist artists "Organization Nuova Secessione Artistica Italiana-Fronte Nuovo Delle Arti" in Venice. From 1948, Santomaso often participated in the Venice Biennial, where he was awarded the Venice Municipality Prize in 1948. He received the Graziano Prize of the Galleria del Naviglio in Milan in 1956 and the Marzotto Prize for the Mostra Internazionale Di Pittura Contemporanea de Valdagno in 1958, among other awards. Santomaso taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice from 1957 to 1975. His first exhibition in the United States was in 1957 at the Grace Borgenicht Gallery in New York. The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam organizes a private exhibition of the artist in 1960. In 1961, he participated in the Biennale of São Paulo and traveled to Brazil the following year. A retrospective Santomaso travels from the Kunstverein in Hamburg to the Haus am Lützowplatz in Berlin via the Museum am Ostwall in Dortmund in 1965 and 1966. His work appears in the Bisannual International Engraving in Krakow in 1972 and 1978. Private exhibitions of his work are presented in 1979 by the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona and the National Gallery of Modern Art in Munich. The Borgenicht Gallery is organizing an exhibition of Santomaso in the spring of 1983. Santomaso dies on May 23, 1990 in Venice.

Archimede Seguso redefined a 650-year family history of Murano glass-making with brilliance and novel techniques, elevating him to an exemplar for the maestros of his time as well as for future generations of glassmakers. This next generation included his sons and grandsons, who carried on and further expanded the family legacy of Venetian art glass. The survival and revival of traditional glassblowing combined with unique design are the legacies left behind by a master.

Seguso grew up in the family furnaces of the Soffieria Barovier Seguso and Ferro, where his training began at age 11. By the time he turned 20, he was a maestro in his own right, joining the family business as a partner.

In 1933 the company changed its name to Seguso Vetri D’Arte, and Seguso gained sole control. He collaborated with designers Flavio Poli and Vittorio Zecchin, which allowed him to achieve artistic sovereignty leading to the opening in 1946 of his own furnace, Vetreria Seguso Archimede. There, he could explore his design ideas with creative freedom. In 2007, the 23rd generation of Seguso glassmakers took the lead at Seguso Vetri D’Arte. Brothers Gianluca, Pierpaolo and Gianandrea Seguso carry a six-century dynasty of Seguso glass into the 21st century.

Archimede Seguso’s art glass pays homage to tradition. Seguso studied and mastered techniques from centuries past, but he also pioneered innovative approaches, such as submersion and unconventional color constitutions. He awarded future generations with stunning and unprecedented effects, such as ribbed textures, rings, needle shapes and the appearance of embedded objects.

A lifetime of achievement created by Seguso is honored in museums worldwide, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, MoMA in New York and Museum Kunstpalast in Dusseldorf, to name a few. His exhibit resume spans decades, beginning with XX Biennale, Venezia, in 1936. It includes a 1989 exhibit of “Il Maestro dei Maestri” at Tiffany & Co., New York, and 2013 exhibitions at Musée Maillol in Paris and Museo della Basilica di San Marco in Venice.

On 1stDibs, find vintage Archimede Seguso glass, decorative objects, lighting and mirrors alongside a collection from his brother Angelo Seguso and his grandsons’ firm Seguso Viro.