Montegrappa’s Genio Creativo series of limited-edition writing instruments honours legendary artists. It has so far included Antonio Stradivari, Giuseppe Verdi, Salvador Dalí and Khalil Gibran. Giants in their fields, these individuals represent sublime talent, inventiveness and vision. Tiziano Vecellio, known to the English-speaking world as “Titian”, joins these ranks for both his incomparable skills and his special meaning for Montegrappa, as he is a son of Venice.
About Tiziano Vecellio
One of the most versatile of the Italian painters, Tiziano (Pieve di Cadore, circa 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576) was equally adept at portraits and landscapes, as well as mythological and religious subjects. His painting methods, particularly in the application and use of colour, would influence not only the painters of the Italian Renaissance, but future generations of European artists. His output, of which around 300 of his circa 400 artworks are believed to survive, included frescoes, drawings, woodcuts and oils on canvas. During the course of his long life, Tiziano’s artistic manner changed drastically, but he retained a lifelong interest in colour. Although his mature artworks may not contain the vivid, luminous tints of his early pieces, their loose brushwork and subtlety of tone are without precedent in the history of painting. Through the wealth of works he left behind, Tiziano has inspired countless generations of artists. Among them are Rembrandt, Velazquez, van Dyck and Rubens, the list itself serving as a legacy of his greatness.
The Genio Creativo Tiziano Pens
Montegrappa, in collaboration with designer, Vincenzo Luly, presents the Tiziano writing instruments collection inspired by the artist’s illustrious painting “Vanitas” (1512-1515). Ensuring that devotees of Tiziano and art lovers in general will be enthralled by the Genio Creativo Tiziano Pens, the barrels, with the artistic interpretations of the subjects, are hand-painted by miniaturist par-excellence, Lorena Straffi. The cap top is further enriched with the original Tiziano wax seal. The latter is also virtuously reproduced onto the barrel end of the magnifying glass that complements the fountain pen. Offered in a limited edition of 100 items for each model, the Tiziano fountain and rollerball pens are both distinctive and evocative of the artist’s era, in that the barrel end and cap are made of precious beech wood. The natural material was indeed retrieved from the secular beech tree, also known as “the Tiziano beech” that grew in the premises of his home in Pieve di Cadore. In 2012, this monumental tree was accidentally ripped by a windstorm, thus disconnecting eventually the historical liaison between the painter and his homelands. Nowadays, this symbolic spell revives through other forms of art, such as the given exclusive selection of writing instruments bearing his name. Enhancing further the organic presence of the beech are the Renaissance Red resin and vermeil Sterling Silver fittings of the Tiziano pens trim. The nib, available as Fine, Medium and Broad, is traditionally made of 18k gold and is etched with the characteristic filigree motif as well as the Montegrappa logo. Together with the two Vanitas models, Montegrappa also produced a unique selection of eight fountain pens with other Tiziano works, such as Flora, Pandora, Toeletta di Venere and Vanitas in several interpretations. This collection was first presented in Prague, from 14th December 2015 till 20th March 2016, at the Imperial Stables of the Prague Castle, at the exhibition dedicated to the artworks of Tiziano, the Tiziano Vanitas – The Poet of the Image and the Shade of beauty and will be auctioned later on this year. Since 1912, for more than a century, Montegrappa has been manufacturing high-quality writing instruments in the same historic building in Bassano del Grappa, North East Italy.