Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Renaissance World of Pucci


When one thinks of Pucci the Renaissance palaces of Florence are one the last things that come to mind and vice versa. However the Renaissance and Pucci are so intertwined you could not have one without the other.

Reaching fame through his highly psychedelic designs of the 1960’s and 1970’s Emilio Pucci was born in 1914 of one of Florence’s oldest noble families, and would live and work in the Pucci Palace in Florence for much of his life.

The 14th -15th Century Palazzo Pucci has been in the Pucci family since it was built and is a standing testament that old and new can coexist together.

Marchesa Cristina Pucci di Barsento, widow of Emilio Pucci, still remembers how astonished she was when she first entered the house, back in 1959: ‘I was very young and quite astonished: It was a heavy house, even severe, like Florence’. Still, what looked like a timeless palazzo outside was a living house inside.

Pucci can be given credit for revolutionizing couture in the 1960s with his vibrant designs and colour and an aesthetic that was totally out of place within the environs in which his clothes were created. However the history of the Pucci family and their business interests gave rise to an evolutionary trend that had its epoch with Emilio Pucci.

In the brown room, for example, the silk draperies and wall covering were made at Antico Setificio Fiorentino, a silk workshop founded by the Puccis and other families in the 17th century; Emilio Pucci took it over in the 1950s for the manufacture of his fabrics which would become the backbone of his designs.

The late-18th-century fresco in the dining room, by Luigi Ademollo, depicts Aenes leaving Troy. Marchesa Pucci and her husband added the Venetian chairs. The crystal glassware was made for the family in the 18th century.

The 17th-century bed in Emilio Pucci’s bedroom was made in Lucca and it was among Pucci’s favourite pieces. The gilt woodwork on the headboard echoes the embroidery on the canopy.

The Wedgwood room was created by an English artist in the late 18th century. The palette and Neo-classical plasterwork were inspired by the signature ceramics. An 18th-century marble sculpture of the goddess Diana is at center.

“My husband loved and respected this house, and we changed little. He was very kind to me and didn’t want to teach me. He understood that some things should be kept the way they are, but he didn’t say, ‘Do this; don’t do that.’ And it was not necessary, because I didn’t want to interfere with the palazzo.”

The house the current marchesa “came into” is still ancestral, layered in generations of incremental change. However after nearly 50 years, Marchesa Pucci has gently made it her own—and shifted the terms for the next fortunate generation.


16 comments:

  1. This is the house we are going to live in right? It better be! Haha.. It is amazing.. You have to love Pucci and all the crazy prints..

    Love! ~Angel

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  2. There is so much to take in with all the details of this posting! I'm surprised how much I really like the mixture of contemporary and traditional in the last photograph. All the same, I'll linger a little longer in the Wedgewood Room.

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  3. Why does everything look so good back then?

    http://halfwhiteboy.blogspot.com/

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  4. I love the last two images and the melding of the traditional and contemporary....just like in art!

    Come and enter the 1st of Twelve Days of Holiday giveaways!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  5. It's absolutely beautiful. I love these colors, this style.
    It's very elegant.

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  6. What a beautiful house!!! And I am so happy to be back and commenting and all with your help. :-) Thank you so very much for reaching out and helping.It loos like the instruction wroked although in some Blogs I still have difficulty. Thank you David!!!

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  7. I knew nothing of this. So interesting. It could only happen in Italy!

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  8. David I promise there will be wonderful surprises ahead!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  9. So nice pictures about Pucci!

    Sincerely, the quality of Primark is... hahaha!

    The relation price - quality is perfect! hahaha! and the prices are so low...

    but I like it!



    kisses!



    Adrien Loren

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  10. that rug is sensational. i thought of pucci when i bought my 60's pad with the pool. images of silk caftans and cocktails...

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  11. Wow, the vibrant colors are amazing. I also love the elegance of the 4th room, just so brilliant.

    xoxo
    Rachel

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  12. Excellent post, weaving the Renaissance right into Pucci's living room! I had no idea. But I guess I am not surprised. With a gorgeous palace to work in, how could his creations be any less beautiful?

    http://thefoolishaesthete.blogspot.com

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  13. FABULOSO!!! David, you made my day!!! XoXo Maca

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  14. It is beautiful place and nice color for bed room.Nice photos.

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