Marco Franzato
Stained glass maker
Venice, Italy
New visions for tinted traditions
- Marco specialises in the creation and restoration of leaded windows
- He carries forward a Venetian glassmaking legacy
- His creations range from traditional leaded panels to wearable glass art
Marco Franzato is one of the last traditional leaded-glass window makers working in the historic centre of Venice. Trained at the Istituto Statale d'Arte in Venice, he has worked from his Santa Croce studio since 1993. "I am nonconformist by nature. I respect tradition while pushing it in new stylistic and technical directions," Marco says. From restoring antique windows to creating original stained glass pieces, furnishings and wearable art, he works fluidly across glass, lead, tin and copper. After teaching stained glass at Murano's Scuola del Vetro Abate Zanetti for almost two decades, he now brings the craft to life through live workshop demonstrations and lectures on Venetian glass traditions.
INTERVIEW
Leaded glass is mainly worked cold. I cut shapes from coloured glass sheets by hand, assemble them with an H-section lead came and solder the joints with tin-based alloy. I also assemble pieces with copper foil and tin instead.
Fewer than ten hand tools are required to craft a stained glass window. Three, however, are critical: a glass cutter, a lead knife and a soldering iron, which is a 100-watt element, just enough to reach tin’s melting point of 232°C
I work with pre-coloured sheet glass, sometimes adding grisaille or enamels. I also use glass fusing, a technique that allows me to melt several sheets of glass into a single piece.
I have been restoring leaded glass windows since 1993. I learn directly from the antique works that pass through my hands, as they show me how glass, lead and their reinforcements behave over time.
Marco Franzato
Stained glass maker
Venice, Italy
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
LANGUAGES
Italian
Homo Faber Finds is a new service aiming to inspire admirers of craft to connect and collaborate with exceptional artisans.
We invite you to submit an enquiry here.
