***THIS ITEM HAS BEEN SOLD***
Abstract Patterned Panel #7
From EUGENIO C's Dining Room
by Emanuele Luzzati

Items from SS BIG RED BOAT II (ex EUGENIO C, EUGENIO COSTA, EDINBURGH CASTLE, THE BIG RED BOAT II)

***THIS ITEM HAS BEEN SOLD***
Hammered Metal Panel Mounted On Wood
Geometric Abstract Design
78 Inches Tall by 20 Inches Wide
Price:  $1,500.00

An artist's rendering of the EUGENIO C's Magic Flute Dining Room from the ship's pre-inaugural introductory brochure and a close up view showing one of the panels. Peter Knego collection.

As built, EUGENIO C was filled with some of Italy's finest artwork of the mid-1960s. Over the years and after many refits, much of it was either removed or pillaged, but when the lovely ship showed up on the beach of Alang, these wonderful geometrically-patterned panels were still extant in her otherwise considerably altered dining rooms. Each one is slightly different, although (with one exception) they all share the same measurements

Top, the panel on the ship. Bottom, a close up of a portion of the panel. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2005 and 2006.

This particular panel is in excellent condition. The shadow at the bottom of the top image is a bit dark. There are some small textural indentations here and there and very minor scrapes from 40 years of service, but overall the panel looks spectacular. The slight colorations are either the artist's patina or the amber remnants of scotch tape (which will come right off with acetone).

Emanuele Luzzati's shipboard contributions go back many decades.  In collaboration with the great triumvirate of Italian designers Gio Ponti, Nino Zoncada, and Gustavo Pulitzer, he and many other key artists contributed works that adorned a gamut of famous ships from CONTE BIANCAMANO to ANDREA DORIA and OCEANIC.  Luzzati is well known in Italy, not just for his ceramics, but his paintings, illustrations (several children's books), stage designs, and animation.  There is a museum and gallery in Genoa, where he still resides, dedicated to his works.

With many thanks to Italian ship historian Paolo Piccione and Mr. Luzzati's curator, I was able to interview the wonderful man in October of 2005 at his museum in Porto Antico, Genoa. He explained his creative process with this type of work. First, in reverse, he pressed the composition into the thin metal (aluminum, copper, or nickel) and then, once finished with the work, filled it in with a plaster-like substance. Once set, he cemented the work onto wood panels.