Mid2Mod: Giovanni De Simone

Showing posts with label Giovanni De Simone. Show all posts

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Update: Giovanni de Simone

In September of 2011, I wrote a post about Giovanni de Simone. In writing the post, I had consulted several sources, all of which had similar information about his life and work.

Two days ago, I noticed a comment on the post that was signed "his wife Eliana de Simone." The writer of the comment stated that much of the information from those initial sources was incorrect. She said that Giovanni de Simone was never a student of Pablo Picasso and that the factory closed in 1992, one year after de Simone's death, not 15 years later. She pointed out that the factory at that time employed more than 100 people. She went on to explain that none of the designers employed by the factory achieved the same level of proficiency as did de Simone and his daughters, so they could not sign their sketches.

I emailed Susanna de Simone, daughter of Giovanni and Eliana de Simone, for additional verification of the facts in the comment, and I received an email yesterday from Massimo Allegra at her studio, confirming that "the information of Eliana de Simone is exact."

I am always honored and thrilled to hear directly from family members who can share information about famous artists or designers that might otherwise be lost...or distorted by the repeated passing on of misinformation on the web. I am indebted to both Eliana de Simone and the studio of Susanna de Simone for setting the record straight and offering us an insight into Giovanni de Simone that we might never have had otherwise.

For more information, go to the Giovanni de Simone blog.

giovannidesimone.blogspot.it

Friday, September 2, 2011

Giovanni de Simone

Update (3/22/2012): I received a comment below, identified as having come from Giovanni de Simone's widow Eliana. According to the comment and the website to which it referred me, de Simone was never a student of Picasso. At the time of his death, his factory employed 100 workers, and it closed in 1992, a year after his death. I have emailed Susanna de Simone in an attempt to verify this information.

Update (3/23/2012): I received verification from the studio of Susanna de Simone and wrote an updated post which was published on 3/24/2012.

Giovanni de Simone (1930-1991), a member of the Italian aristocracy, ~~was a friend and student of Pablo Picasso~~. He opened a studio in Palermo, Italy, after World War II and became very popular during the 1950s and 1960s. His pottery designs were very similar to Picasso's, but his color palette was much more vivid.

~~His pottery factory usually employed four to six decorators~~, but they did not sign their work. However, Giovanni de Simone very often signed his own work in a prominent place where it could be seen without turning the piece over. Although his daughters Rosita and Susanna were also decorators, it is thought that they did not sign their work as long as their father was actively involved in the factory. A third daughter, Margherita, ran the office. Giovanni de Simone retired in 1981.

The factory continued operation for about 15 years after his death. Some speculate that it went out of business because of the U.S. ban on importation of its products as a result of the Food and Drug Administration's allegation that it contained lead and cadmium. The company fought the ban for years but were never successful in having it lifted. Many of their shipments were confiscated at the dock.

Experts predict that de Simone pottery, which has always been collectible, will soar in price over the coming years. Susanna de Simone still makes and sells ceramic items in the style she learned from her father. She signs her work "S. DE SIMONE."

From italianpotterymarks.freeforums.org, forum.treasurenet.com and sllab.net