Country House
Deruta and the ceramic arts
First artistic installations in Deruta surely were favoured by an easy
availability of argil, raw material in ceramic processing, both on Deruta's
hills, where still was extracted in the early decades of past century, and
on the surroundings, included the alluvial deposits of river Tevere exploited
up to fifty years ago.
There are documents about the existence, since 1296, of the place-name“land
of earthenware” along Tevere’s banks on the close territory
of Torgiano and it’s been recently pointed out how in a wide zone
within the middle “tiberina” valley, between Perugia and Todi,
it’s possible to track down testimonies of convincing productions
of bricks and tiles and terra-cottas, in ancient times.
Later, the appropriate geographic position of Deruta, especially because
of the closeness to important of through and fluvial roads, favouring commerce
and barter, could have helped potters’ development out and the expansion
of their commerce. So the city became, especially among XV and XVI centuries,
and once again during the past century, an extraordinary phenomenon of “monoeconomy”
based on production of ceramic.
So, thanks to the “crossroad position" of Deruta, during XIV
and XVI centuries various artistic and technical experiences of processing
merged in a new productive way.
During the second half of XV century Deruta has been in the interest of
some phenomenons that had a decisive influence on the development of ceramic.
Deruta, and its master potters, was the centre of intense artistic and commercial
movement where emerged in particular, both a considerable phenomenon of
immigration of potters, coming from many italian towns after a forty years
process of fiscal exemptions allowed to encourage the city’s repeopling
after the pestilence epidemic of 1456, who added new techniques and decorations,
and Deruta also started a close relationship with the most important representatives
of painting of Umbria in a period where iconographical themes and subjects
where widely reproduced on Deruta’s ceramics; last there’s been
a mutual exchange with merchants and potters from Perugia with whom they
negotiated contracts of important productive commercial companies.
During the second half of XVI century a popular and unique kind of decoration
version survived, being reinterpreted in a summarized version in the production
of votive and cult plates. An extraordinary example are the more than six
hundred votive tiles kept in the church of “Madonna dei Bagni”
in Casalina of Deruta.
After a phase at the beginning of '800 of partial abandon in ceramic arts,
at the end of the century the early ceramic studies, historical researches
and the interest of passionates and collectors, favoured the artistic and
industrial restarting characterized by an exhibition, with prizes organized
by the City of Deruta’s in 1872.
The exhibition of antique ceramics of Deruta was the background for the
contest and probably gave the start to the idea of building a city museum,
nowadays still visible within the shielded medieval centre overlooking the
open wide Tevere’s valley.
MADONNA DEI BAGNI SANCTUARY
Against the complex and extremely variegated backdrop of the sacred and devotional use of the various regions of italy, Deruta stands out quite clearly for its production since at least the 16th century to the present day, of a series of subjects whose iconography is especially dedicated to the Madonna, as well as others of an ex-voto type, in particular those intended for the sanctuary of the Madonna dei Bagni.
These plaques – in relief or painted – were placed for the most part on small posts and in niches along the wayside or at crossroads, on the facades of the images cab be traced back to much-celebrated prototypes.
