Page 12 - Bonhams May 12 16 London

Palazzo Grassi

Franco Marinotti

(1891 - 1966)

Coming from a small city in Italy, the extraordinary journey of Franco
Marinotti (1891-1966) began in a textile company near Milan (the Filatura
Cascami Seta) at the beginning of the 20th century, where he made
his way up to the prominent position of managing the Warsaw and
Moscow branches. This enriching experience and strong commercial
relationships developed in Russia allowed him to launch his own
company in 1921, the CICE - Compagnia Industriale Commercio Estero,
and have continuous business links with Russia and South East Asia
even following the October Revolution in 1917. The enterprise, which
was intended to facilitate and regulate the economic relationships
between Italian companies and Russia, resulted in Marinotti becoming a
highly influential commercial and political figure.

In 1930, Senatore Borletti, one of the most important Milanese
entrepreneurs and financiers, asked Marinotti to become managing
director of the SNIA Viscosa. He subsequently became CEO in 1934
and President and shareholder of SNIA until his death in 1966. In these
politically and economically troubled times, Franco Marinotti proved to
be an exceptional leader bringing the company to an unprecedented
international level, revealing himself as a man of great intuition and many
talents, with a clear disposition for innovation. His merits were also
recognised by King Umberto II, the last King of Italy, who rewarded him
with the noble title of Count of Torviscosa, a town founded by Marinotti.

As a philanthropist, he was very much involved in collecting and Franco Marinotti, Shanghai circa 1918
preserving art, including Antiquities, Old Master Paintings, Oriental
and Modern and Contemporary Art. His collection demonstrates his
wide range of interests and passion for collecting. In 1949, he bought
the Palazzo Grassi through SNIA Viscosa, and founded the ‘Centro
Internazionale delle Arti e del Costume’. Even through both wars,
Mr. Marinotti kept being a supporter of artists, such as the members
of the Futurists Movement, as well as ceramics artists and even
archaeological sites, which showed once again his extraordinary strong,
complex character and unique vision through his career and pursuit of
arts and culture. It is possible that his impressive collection of Chinese
archaic bronzes and jade and jadeite carvings was acquired during his
travels to China in the early 20th century.