Ulisse De Matteis

Ulisse De Matteis (1827-1910) was a Florentine artist who worked primarily in stained glass. De Matteis created windows for many of the most important monuments in Tuscany and Liguria, including the Bargello, Florence Cathedral, Santa Croce, Santa Trinita, Siena Cathedral, Prato Cathedral, San Michele in Foro in Lucca, Genoa Cathedral, Mackenzie Castle, and San Francesco d'Albaro. De Matteis' work is also found in England, in the Church of St. Mary in Lastingham.

Angelo Visconti, Portrait of Ulisse De Matteis, oil on canvas, 1857. Galleria d'arte moderna, Florence.

Birth and death dates

Stained-glass artist Ulisse De Matteis was born in Florence, most likely in 1827. However, Angelo De Gubernatis, in his Dictionary of Living Italian Artists, reports that De Matteis was born in 1828, ^[1] and this date has been repeated in numerous other biographies of the artist. ^{[2] [3] [4]} The baptismal records in the archives of Florence cathedral do not contain a record of any De Matteis births in 1828. There are records in other years for two births, either of which could be the artist Ulisse De Matteis: Giuseppe Enrico Ulisse De Matteis born in 1827 or Enrico Ulisse De Matteis born in 1830. The record of Ulisse's death in the Ufficio Anagrafe (Registry office) in Florence lists his birth year as 1827, making it almost certain that he was born in 1827. ^[5] Ulisse's death in 1910 is recorded both in his obituary and in the Ufficio Anagrafe in Florence. ^[6]

Early life and the founding of the workshop

Early in his life, De Matteis worked in his father Clemente’s engraving shop and had planned to continue in his father’s profession. However, in 1848, he volunteered for the first Italian War of Independence, when Italians were fighting for liberation from the Hapsburg Austrian Empire, which had ruled Tuscany since the death of the last Medici Gian Gastone in 1737. During the war, De Matteis was imprisoned with the Florentine academic painter Stefano Ussi; apparently, it was Ussi who encouraged De Matteis to abandon engraving and pursue painting. ^[7]

Cover of a catalog for the De Matteis workshop published in 1906 when the firm was run by Sergio and Ulisse De Matteis.

Upon his return to Florence in 1849, De Matteis attended figure drawing classes at the Accademia di Belle Arti and kept company at the Caffè Michelangelo in Via Larga (now Via Cavour), where he came to know the Macchiaioli painters, including Telemaco Signorini and Giovanni Fattori, both noted as his friends in his obituary. ^[8] This group, described by art historian Albert Boime as “close to the radical working-class movement led by the master baker Giuseppe Dolfi in Florence,” advocated for Tuscan independence and for the political unification of the Italian peninsula. ^[9] De Matteis’ working-class background united him with several of the artists who frequented the Caffè Michelangelo, including Vincenzo Cabianca and Giovanni Fattori. The only known extant image of the artist was painted in 1857 by the Sienese artist Angelo Visconti during Visconti’s stay in Florence. ^[10] In the portrait, De Matteis wears a velvet cap similar to those worn by several figures in the entourage of the young king in Benozzo Gozzoli’s 1459-60 Procession of the Magi in the chapel of the Palazzo Medici. While the collar is modern, the robe De Matteis wears resembles those worn by men in fifteenth-century Florentine portraits by artists such as Botticelli.

Cover of the 1915 catalog published by the De Matteis firm when it was under the direction of Ezio Giovanozzi, Ulisse De Matteis' son-in-law.

In the 1850s, the painter-restorer Gaetano Bianchi encouraged De Matteis to pursue stained glass; De Matteis then turned to Emilio Bechi, a prominent chemist at the Istituto Tecnico in Florence, for advice on how to make enameled pigments. ^{[11] [12]} With capital and workshop space provided by the glass company of Carlo and Giuseppe Francini ^[13] and the expertise of Natale Bruschi in cutting and leading glass, De Matteis founded his workshop in 1859 in the Via Guelfa in Florence. Throughout their collaboration, which lasted well into the 1880s, Bruschi fabricated the windows according to De Matteis’ designs, and De Matteis then painted the glass with enameled pigments—a process that followed the practices of medieval stained-glass artists.

Family life and family business

At the same time he was preparing to launch his stained-glass workshop, De Matteis married his first wife Elena Paoli. The couple had three children: ^[14]

• Ferdinando Vittorio Italiano (1859-60)
• Elettra Italia Isolina (1861-1932) grew up in her father’s workshop and became an artist herself; her stained-glass windows and paintings were included in several exhibitions.
• Maria Zaira Elisabetta (b. 1863, died as a child)

In 1875, Ulisse married his second wife, the artist Veronica Vespini degli Innocenti (1854 Arezzo-1910 Florence). ^{[15] [16]} Veronica was a practicing artist who exhibited her work, sometimes alongside Elettra, her stepdaughter, and Ulisse. Veronica and Ulisse had five children: ^[17]

• Eva Marzia Luisa (1876-1908) ^[18]
• Maria Marzia Elettra (b. 1878, likely died as a child)
• Sergio Ettore (1882-1907)
• Rita Landa Giuseppina (b. 1887); married Ezio Giovannozzi (1882-1964) in 1909 ^[19]
• Maria Berta Marzia (1898-1988). ^[20]

By the late 1890s, the De Matteis workshop was a family enterprise. In a 1979 interview with Maria De Matteis, published in the catalog of an exhibition of her work as a costume designer, she reminisces: "Earlier, as a child, I worked with my father, a painter of stained-glass windows (pittore di vetrate)...And in Corso dei Tintori in Florence, there is, or at least I think it's still there, a stained-glass window that I painted. The family environment was formative for me. My father, like I said, was a painter, and my mother a miniature painter, she made miniature paintings even for the czars. All of my siblings painted, except my sister Rita, pianist and composer, who married the painter Ezio Giovannozzi." ^[21] Maria De Matteis' memories are attested to in accounts from the time: in an 1896 account of artists in his book Florence Today (Firenze d'oggi), Ugo Matini remarks that all of the family, even the small children, work together on the company’s numerous commissions. ^[22] Beginning in about 1904, Sergio and Eva De Matteis co-directed the workshop, although correspondence is signed only from Sergio and Ulisse. On November 1, 1906, the firm moved from its workshop at 67 Via Guelfa to the Palazzo Ricasoli-Firidolfi, in Corso dei Tintori 51-Lungarno delle Grazie 6a. ^[23] Sergio died in 1907 and Eva in 1908, leaving Ulisse and Veronica in deep sorrow and in search of a new workshop director. Ezio Giovannozzi, the spouse of Rita Landa, with the assistance of the painter Ricciardo Meacci, took control of the shop in 1908, two years before Ulisse's death in 1910.

Commissions 1859-1870

• Florence, Bargello, 1859-60. For the restoration of the Bargello by architect Francesco Mazzei and Gaetano Bianchi, which turned what was a prison into a museum of art, De Matteis made a stained-glass window for the chapel depicting St. John the Baptist and many crown glass windows decorated with coats of arms—all in keeping with the medieval style of the building. ^{[24] [25]}
• Florence, Church of Orsanmichele, 1860. Antonio Pavan writes that De Matteis created a large, historiated lunette-shaped window in the same medieval style as the artwork in the church. ^[24] This window is no longer extant; it was replaced in 1933 with a window by Armando Bruschi. ^[26]
• San Miniato (al Tedesco), Cathedral, 1861. Pavan records that De Matteis created a circular window in a Gothic style representing the Assumption of the Virgin. This window won him a prize at the 1861 Italian National Exhibition because of its imitation of the style of old windows. ^{[24] [27] [28]}
• Siena, Cathedral, Chapel of St. John the Baptist, 1865-66. The window depicting the coat of arms of the Opera of Siena Cathedral was created by the Francini company based on De Matteis' designs. ^{[29] [30]}
• Florence, Church of San Giuseppe, 1865-69. For this mortuary chapel, notes Pavan, De Matteis made six large windows with two figures in each, as well as two other circular windows depicting stories of saints. ^[24]
• San Regolo, Ricasoli chapel in the Castello di Brolio, 1868-69. De Matteis created four large stained-glass windows as well as many windows with coats of arms, according to Pavan—all of which were commissioned by Bettino Ricasoli for the chapel of his castle. ^[24]
• Florence, Church of Santa Croce, 1869. Pavan praises De Matteis for his completion of the three 14th-century stained-glass windows in the high altar chapel of Santa Croce—the lowest panels of these windows were missing. De Matteis' work was so successful, according to Pavan, that no one could tell where the medieval windows ended and the new ones began. And because of this work, De Matteis was made a Knight of the Crown of Italy. De Matteis went on to create two new windows for private chapels in the transept of Santa Croce: one commissioned by Francis Sloane, and one commissioned by the Guicciardini family. De Matteis was also commissioned by the architect Francesco Mazzei to create a circular window in the opening above the high altar chapel that was discovered during restorations in the 1860s; however, Francis Sloane, who was going to pay for the commission, died in 1871, and there was no funding for the completion of the project. ^{[24] [31] [32]}
• Lucca, Church of San Michele in Foro, 1870. Pavan writes that De Matteis' success at Santa Croce earned him commissions to create windows for San Michele in Foro in Lucca and the Cathedral of Prato (see below). The 1906 De Matteis catalog lists the four nave windows with two Apostles in each, three apse windows, and two facade windows created by the firm for San Michele in Foro.

Gallery of work 1859-1870

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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass window of St. John the Baptist, in the chapel of the Magdalene, Bargello, Florence, 1859.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, crown-glass window with the Florence coat of arms, Bargello, Florence, 1859.
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  Watercolor drawing of a stained glass window created by Ulisse De Matteis ca. 1865 for the oratory of San Giuseppe in Florence. From the Archivio storico comunale Firenze.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, stained-glass window in the chapel of St. John the Baptist in Siena Cathedral, 1865-66.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass window depicting St. Peter, from the Ricasoli Chapel at Castello di Brolio, 1868-69.
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  Fourteenth-century stained-glass window from the high altar chapel of Santa Croce, Florence. The part above the central iron bar is medieval; the part below the bar was created by Ulisse De Matteis in 1869.
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  Fourteenth-century stained-glass window from the high altar chapel of Santa Croce, Florence. The lower halves of the female saints at the bottom of the window, as well as the two very lowest decorative panels containing red seraph heads, were created in 1869 by Ulisse De Matteis.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass window for the Guicciardini chapel, Santa Croce, Florence, 1869. The window bears the inscription: STA FRANCINI FIRENZE 1869 U. DE MATTEIS F*E. Ci N BRUSCHI.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass window created for the Spinelli-Sloane chapel, Santa Croce, Florence, 1869.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, detail of the Virgin Mary and Christ, from a stained-glass window dedicated to the Immaculate Conception in Spinelli-Sloane chapel, Santa Croce, Florence, 1869.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass window of saints Andrew and John, Lucca, San Michele in Foro. 1870. The inscription under St. John reads: Sta Francini Firenze 1870 U De Matteis N Bruschi.
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  An engraving of the stained glass window that Ulisse De Matteis entered in the Roman exhibit of Catholic art in 1870. Included in: Antonio Pavan, “Della pittura su vetro e del laboratorio De Matteis,” L’arte in Italia III (1870): 68-69.

Commissions, 1870-1879

• Genoa, Rubattino-Rebizzo chapel in the Cemetery of Staglieno, 1871. When Bianca Rebizzo died in 1869, Raffaele Rubattin i erected a chapel in her memory. The painter Nicolò Barabino frescoed the interior, and Ulisse De Matteis created stained-glass windows for the upper parts of the chapel based on drawings by Barabino. ^[33]
• Florence, San Michele Visdomini, 1872. Receipts in the archive of the church indicate that De Matteis created four large windows containing busts of Christ the Redeemer (S.S. Redentore), St. Joseph (S. Giuseppe), St. Michae l (S. Michele), and St. John (S. Giovanni). The bill that the firm sent to the church attests that all of the painting was created with enamels by the artist Ulisse De Matteis, and that the leading of the windows was done according to the style of craftsmanship from the 1500s. ^[34] The windows are in the nave of the church; two are visible in the top corners of this photograph.
• Florence, Certosa del Galluzzo, Church of San Lorenzo, ca. 1870-80. The De Matteis catalog from 1906 lists a large circular window with a figure of Christ the Redeemer and a figural window for a side chapel, commissioned by the Certosini. ^[35] The specific date of the windows is uncertain; however, the window of Christ the Redeemer is visible in a photograph of the choir stalls in the church taken by Giacomo Brogi (Edizioni Brogi 4348) ca. 1870-80.
• Prato, Church of San Domenico, 1872. Restorations to the church began in the 1860s. One of the last campaigns in 1872 involved opening up the large, pointed arch on the wall behind the choir. De Matteis created a large window depicting the Assumption of the Virgin with St. Francis and St. Dominic to fit into this newly opened space. ^[36]
• Prato, Cathedral, 1870-74. ^[37] When Antonio Pavan was writing in 1870, ^[38] De Matteis had just been commissioned to create windows for Prato Cathedral, many based on drawings by Pietro Pezzati. De Matteis created a window in the chapel of the Angioli Custodi (Guardian Angels), a window for the St. Lawrence chapel, a window of the Resurrection of Christ in the Vinaccessi Chapel, which is signed and dated, as well as windows in the transepts depicting a variety of saints. De Matteis also restored the windows in the high altar chapel. ^{[39] [40] [41]}
• Siena, Oratory of the Kitchen, House of St. Catherine, 1874. De Matteis created the two windows on either side of the high altar. Marchese Pieri Nerli Ferdinando paid for the window. ^[42]

• Florence, Palazzo Medici, Magi chapel, 1875-76. De Matteis was commissioned to create a stained-glass window for the chapel as part of a restoration campaign. The window contained decorative elements that were taken from the chapel itself. ^{[43] [44]} The window was removed when the chapel was once again restored in 1911. ^[45] See a photo of the chapel before this restoration in the Alinari collection.
• Florence, Laurentian Library, 1876. De Matteis created a window in the same style as those painted by Giovanni da Udine in the 16th century for the library reading room. ^[46] The De Matteis window is inscribed: Sta^o: Francini U De Matteis N. Bruschi U De Matteis Firenze 1876.
• Genoa, Cathedral of San Lorenzo, 1876. All of the historiated stained-glass windows in the chapel of St. John the Baptist. ^[47] The windows in the lower level depict: Abraham, Moses, David, Daniel, Joseph, Joachim, Anna, and Simeon. The windows in the dome depict angels and Christ. All of the windows have been restored several times, most notably after the cathedral was damaged by a bomb in World War II. ^[48]
• Fiesole, Castle of Vincigliata, 1875-80. De Matteis created several windows for the castle while it was being restored by John Temple Leader. ^[49] None of the windows survives, however, because the castle was used to house prisoners of war during WWII and was ransacked at the end of the war. A photograph of the window De Matteis created for the chapel at Vincigliata, which contained four 16th-century glass roundels surrounded by grotteschi and other motifs painted by De Matteis, is in the Fratelli Alinari photo archive: https://www.alinari.it/item/en/1/595890. ^[50] As Francesco Baldry notes, this window resembles those in the Laurentian library, where De Matteis was working at the same time he was working at Vincigliata. ^[49]

Gallery of Work 1870-1879

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  G.B. Resasco (architect), Rubattino-Rebizzo chapel, Staglieno Cemetery, Genoa, 1870. The chapel spire contains stained-glass windows by Ulisse De Matteis.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, stained-glass windows in the spire of the Rubattino-Rebizzo chapel, Staglieno Cemetery, Genoa, 1871.
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  G.B. Resasco (architect), Rubattino-Rebisso chapel, Staglieno Cemetery, Genoa, 1870. The spire contains stained-glass windows created by De Matteis in 1871.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass window depicting Christ (S.S. Redentore), Church of San Michele Visdomini, Florence, 1872.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass window depicting St. John (S. Giovanni), Church of San Michele Visdomini, Florence, 1872.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, detail of stained-glass window depicting St. Michael (S. Michele), Church of San Michele Visdomini, Florence, 1872.
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  Interior of the church of San Lorenzo in the Certosa del Galluzzo near Florence. The window of Christ the Redeemer was made by Ulisse De Matteis ca. 1870-80.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass window of the Assumption of the Virgin with Saints Dominic and Francis. Church of San Domenico, Prato. 1872.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Detail of a stained-glass window of the Assumption of the Virgin with Saints Dominic and Francis. Church of San Domenico, Prato. 1872.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Detail of a stained-glass window of the Assumption of the Virgin with Saints Dominic and Francis. Church of San Domenico, Prato. 1872.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, stained-glass window depicting saints Joseph, Andrew, Vincent, and Margarita, transept of Prato Cathedral, 1870-71.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass window depicting the Assumption of the Virgin and a Guardian Angel, Prato Cathedral, chapel of the Guardian Angels/Assumption, 1871.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Detail of the stained-glass window in the Manassei Chapel showing St. Caterina Riccia, Prato Cathedral, 1872.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass window of the Resurrection of Christ, Prato Cathedral, Vinaccesi chapel, 1874.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, detail of a stained-glass window depicting the Resurrection of Christ created for the Vinaccessi Chapel in the Cathedral of Prato, 1874. The inscription on the rock reads: Sta Francini e Co. U.D.M. N. Bruschi | U. De Matteis disegnò e dipinse | FIRENZE 1874.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, inscription on a window in the Laurentian library, 1876.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, inscription on a window in the Laurentian library, 1876.
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  Genoa, Cathedral. Chapel of St. John the Baptist. All of the stained-glass windows in the chapel were created by De Matteis in 1876.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass window of St. Anne, Genoa Cathedral, Chapel of St. John the Baptist, 1876.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass window of St. Joachim, Genoa Cathedral, Chapel of St. John the Baptist, 1876.
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  Genoa, cathedral. Chapel of St. John the Baptist. Detail of a stained glass window of St. Simeon that contains the inscription: U De Matteis disegno e dipinse. Firenze 1876.

Commissions 1880-1895

• Lastingham, UK, Church of St. Mary, 1880. During the restoration of the church, funded by Sydney Ringer, De Matteis was commissioned to create five windows in the chancel of the church. ^[51] They depict: the Nativity, the Crucifixion of Christ, the Resurrection of Christ, Christ with Annie Ringer (the daughter of Sydney and Anne Ringer), and Christ with a Lily. The Crucifixion window includes the inscription: Sta. Francini e C: U.DM.N. Bruschi, Firenze 1880, U. De Matteis disegno e dipinse.
• Florence, Stibbert Museum, 1880s. The 1906 De Matteis catalog notes that the firm made the windows for the Castello Stibbert that became the Stibbert Museum. The windows are mainly crown glass with coats of arms at the top. There are numerous documents, bills, and letters about the creation of these windows in the Stibbert Museum archive. There was a great deal of exchange between Natale Bruschi and members of the De Matteis family; the letters often contain details about the De Matteis family, indicating that the De Matteis knew Frederick Stibbert personally.
• Florence, Old American Church, 1881-82. This church in the Piazza del Carmine was destroyed when the congregation moved to its current space in the Via Rucellai ca. 1910. ^[52] One stained-glass window from the old church was preserved and reinstalled in the new church; although there is no signature on the window, it fits the description in the 1906 De Matteis catalog of a large window with detailed decoration created for the American Church. ^[53] The window is currently installed behind the church organ, making it difficult to see. ^[54]
• Siena, Cathedral, ca, 1880-1895. ^[55] During the 1880s and 90s, De Matteis created numerous new stained-glass windows and restored old ones for Siena cathedral during restoration projects overseen by Giuseppe Partini, who served as the head architect of the Cathedral. ^[56] In addition to the commissions listed below, De Matteis also made crown glass windows, some decorated with coats of arms, for various parts of the cathedral complex, including the Siena Baptistery. ^[57]
  • Siena, Cathedral, nave clerestory windows, 1881-83. Partini enlarged the clerestory of the cathedral, and the newly enlarged windows were filled with stained glass made by De Matteis. ^[58] Between 1881-83, De Matteis created large crown glass windows decorated with small images of blue and red seraphim for the central nave clerestory windows.
  • Siena, Cathedral, eastern nave clerestory windows, later 1880s. The windows in the clerestory of the eastern part of the nave are decorated with the coats of arms and portraits of Sienese popes, including: Pope Gregory VII (Aldobrandeschi), Pope Alexander III (Bandinelli-Cerretani), Pope Pius II (Piccolomini), Pope Pius III (Piccolomini-Todeschini), Pope Marcellus II (Cervini), Pope Paul V (Borghese), Pope Alexander VII (Chigi), and Pope Leo XIII (Pecci). ^{[59] [60]}
  • Siena, Cathedral, dome drum windows, 1888. De Matteis created twelve windows depicting the Apostles, which were installed in the drum of the dome in 1888. ^[61]
  • Siena, Cathedral, dome lantern windows, 1892. ^[62] In 1890, there was a fire in the lantern of the dome. A new marble lantern was built, and De Matteis equipped it with eight crown glass windows in 1892. ^[63] The style and color palette of these windows reference medieval Italian glass--most notably 14th-century stained-glass windows in the church of Santa Croce in Florence. ^[60]

• Chiusi, Concattedrale di San Secondiano, 1887-94. As part of the substantial restoration of the church by architect Giuseppe Partini, ^{[64] [65]} De Matteis created several windows, including: the ten crown glass nave windows and the windows in the counterfacade, which depict which depict Christ Pantocrator, Quinto Velio, Blessed Bishop Mark, Blessed Nerania Martyr, St. Paul, and St. Peter. ^{[66] [67]}

Gallery of Work 1880-1895

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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass window from the Old American church in Florence, ca. 1881-82. Currently installed in St. James Episcopal Church in Florence.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, detail of the stained-glass window from the Old American church in Florence, ca. 1881-82. Currently installed in St. James Episcopal Church in Florence.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, detail of Christ and Angel from the stained-glass window from the Old American church in Florence, ca. 1881-82. Currently installed in St. James Episcopal Church in Florence.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained glass window in the Stibbert Museum, 1880s.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass window dedicated to Pope Leo XIII, Siena Cathedral clerestory, ca. 1885-89.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass windows depicting three Apostles in the drum of the dome of Siena Cathedral, installed in 1888.
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  Ulisse De Matteis, Stained-glass windows depicting three Apostles in the drum of the dome of Siena Cathedral, installed in 1888.
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  Dome of Siena Cathedral, view into the lantern with crown glass windows created by Ulisse De Matteis and installed in 1892.

Exhibitions and Awards

• 1861, Florence, Italian National Exhibition (L'Esposizione nazionale italiana del 1861). Antonio Pavan reports that De Matteis' window of the Assumption of the Virgin created for San Miniato (al Tedesco), Cathedral won a prize at this exhibition. ^[68] In the exhibition catalog, the window is listed as a product of the Francini company and described as a vetrate gotica—a Gothic stained-glass window. ^[69] In the list of prizes given at the exhibition is: "Francini, Giuseppe, di Firenze; —per la diligente imitazione di una vetrata gotica rappresentante l'Assunzione (Francini, Giuseppe of Florence;-for the diligent imitation of a Gothic stained-glass window representing The Assumption)." ^[70]
• 1862, London, International Exhibition. De Matteis won a prize for what Pavan describes as an elegant rectangular window depicting allegories referring to the Italian Risorgimento. This exhibition was held at the South Kensington Museum, now the Victoria and Albert.
• 1869, Padua, Exhibition of Industrial Agriculture and Fine Arts of the Province of Padua (Esposizione agricola industriale e di belle arti della Provincia di Padova). In his observations on the fine arts at the exhibition, the architect and art historian Pietro Selvatico writes that "the stained-glass window of De Matteis and Bruschi of Florence representing the entire figure of the Virgin was well placed with light behind it, so that one could see the vibrancy of the colors and the clean lines that form the drapery folds, taken from the traditions of the 14th century. Too bad the head didn't fit in with the rest of the window and that the colorful border around the window took away from its overall harmony!" ^[71]
• 1870, Rome, Exhibition of Catholic Art. ^[72] Antonio Pavan includes an engraving of the window that De Matteis exhibited in Rome and remarks that the window makes it difficult to decide whether cav. De Matteis is more able in the technical aspects of his art or in his designs and inventions, because he is inspired by perfect examples of ancient (antica) Italian art. Because the window was on display at the time Pavan was writing, he tells his readers it's up to them to decide! ^[73]
• 1873, Vienna, World's Fair. The Francini Company won the "Medaglia del buon gusto" (Medal of good taste) in the ecclesiastical arts section of the exhibition. In a discussion of the Italian ecclesiastical arts on exhibit in Vienna, Ulisse de Matteis is named as the director of the Francini company and Natale Bruschi is named as his collaborator. ^[74]
• 1877, Florence, Artistic-Industrial Exposition (Esposizione artistico-industriale). According to the exhibition catalog, De Matteis and the Francini company exhibited both drawings of extant stained-glass windows and a stained-glass window. ^[75] In one of a series of letters written by Antonio Pavan on the 1877 Florence exhibition, he describes "the beautiful stained-glass window painted by Cav. De Matteis of the Francini company. This Madonna Enthroned, designed in the best way possible and colored with unsurpassed confidence and vivacity, received deserved honors at the sacred exhibition in Rome and at the world exhibition in Vienna." ^[76]
• 1887, Florence, Tuscan Regional Exhibition of Construction Materials, Decorations and Finishing Works. Natale Bruschi, Francini, and De Matteis exhibited separately in this show. De Matteis won a gold medal for his work. The list of works shown by De Matteis include: a medieval stained-glass window; several designs for stained-glass windows representing the "Regina degli Apostoli" (Queen of the Apostles), S. Carlo Borromeo, and Christ; a sketch of one of the large stained-glass windows in the Cathedral of Florence (Santa Maria del Fiore); a medieval style stained-glass window containing a representation of St. George, carried out by Elettra De Matteis; a stained-glass window containing a bust of the Angel of God, carried out by Veronica De Matteis. ^[77]
• 1889, Rome, Artistic-Industrial Museum, Exhibition of Ceramic and Glass Arts. The index of the catalog for this show includes: De Matteis E. U. e V., which most likely means Elettra, Ulisse, and Veronica De Matteis. The work submitted by the firm is all credited to Veronica De Matteis. The work includes: a stained-glass window painted with vitreous enamels depicting an angel in the center; a stained-glass window showing St. George with an ornamented border; and a window with ornament in the style of Bramante. ^[78]
• 1890, National Women’s Exhibition, Florence (Esposizione Beatrice di Firenze. Mostra nazionale de' lavori femminili in Firenze.). Elettra De Matteis won two silver medals--one for her work in oil, pastel, and watercolor, and one for her stained-glass windows. Veronica De Matteis won a silver medal for her stained-glass windows. ^[79]

References

1. Angelo De Gubernatis, Dizionario degli artisti italiani vivendi[Dictionary of Living Italian Artists], Florence: Le Monnier, 1893. pp. 174–5.
2. Luigi Càllari, Storia dell'arte contemporanea italiana (History of Contemporary Italian Art). Rome: Loescher, 1909. p. 415.
3. Felix Becker and Ulrich Thieme, Allgemeines Lexicon Der Bildenden Kunstler von Der Antike Bis Zur Gegenwart, Leipzig: E.A. Seeman, 1930. p. 254.
4. Agostino Comanducci, Dizionario illustrato dei pittori e incisori italiani moderni, 1800-1900, Milan, Grafitalia, 1945, p. 223.
5. The death record reads: "L’Ufficiale di Anagrafe Certifica che: il Sig. De Matteis Ulisse nato il 01-04-1827 a Firenze è stato iscritto nell’Anagrafe della popolazione residente di questo Comune dal Censimento 1871 fino al 08-02-1910 data di cancellazione per decesso."
6. "Necrologio: Il pittore cav. Ulisse De Matteis," Corriere della Sera, Florence, 18 February 1910.
7. Archivio Storico Comunale di Firenze (ASCF), Corda 23, inserto 603, “Toscani o aventi militato pella Toscana ritrovati dal sottoscritto in Innsbrück, Linza, Piaga.” De Matteis appears in this list, along with two of his brothers and Stefano Ussi. See also Angelo De Gubernatis’ entry on De Matteis in his Dizionario degli artisti italiani viventi (Florence, 1892), 174-75 and De Matteis’ obituary, “Necrologio: Il pittore cav. Ulisse De Matteis.” Corriere della Sera, 18 February 1910.
8. “Necrologio: Il pittore cav. Ulisse De Matteis.” Corriere della Sera, 18 February 1910.
9. Boime, Albert. The Art of the Macchia and the Risorgimento: Representing Culture and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Italy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. pp. 10-11.
10. "Ritratto di Ulisse de Matteis dipinto ca 1850 - ca 1850".
11. De Matteis’ collaboration with Bechi is noted in the firm’s brochures: L'officina De Matteis per la costruzione e per il restauro di vetrate dipinte a smalto con ustione, secondo il sistema degli antichi maestri in Firenze, Florence: Salvadore Landi, 1906; and Officina De Matteis vetraria: per la costruzione e per il restauro di vetrate dipinte a smalto a gran fuoco, secondo il sistema degli antichi maestri, published in 1915. Copies of both are in the Archivio Storico Comunale di Firenze: the 1906 catalog is in: ACSF, Belle Arti 1/4, 1907, affare #16-7; the 1915 catalog is in: ASCF, Filza 5064, Palazzo della Posta.
12. Guido Gori and Massimi Misiti, La biblioteca dell'Istituto Tecnico Toscano, Florence: Giuntina, 1986. pp. vii-ix (on the history of the Technical Institute).
13. The Francini company was in existence at least by 1845. Records of a business transaction between the city and the Francini in 1845 are in the Archivio Storico Comunale di Firenze (ASCF), Filza 35, ins. 342, 1845. By 1870, The Francini company had a factory in San Giovanni Val d’Arno that employed over sixty people in making glass. See Antonio Pavan, “Della pittura su vetro e del laboratorio De Matteis,” L’arte in Italia III (1870): 68-69.
14. All births are recorded in the Archivio dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence. https://duomo.firenze.it/it/archivio/fondi-archivistici. All deaths are recorded in the Ufficio Anagrafe (Registry office) in Florence. https://www.comune.firenze.it/anagrafe-e-stato-civile.
15. The marriage is recorded in the Atti di Matrimonio (Marriages) preserved in the Ufficio Anagrafe (Office of Registries), Anno (year) 1875, parte 1, vol. 2. atto n.592. "Il giorno dieci del mese di giugno dell’anno milleottocentosettantacinque è stato celebrato in FIRENZE il matrimonio fra: De Matteis, Ulisse nato in Firenze di anni 48, e Vespini Veronica nata in Arezzo di anni 20." ("On June 10, 1875 was celebrated in Florence the marriage between De Matteis, Ulisse born in Florence and 48 years old, and Vespini, Veronica, born in Arezzo and 20 years old.")
16. Veronica's death is recorded in the Registry office in Florence: "L’Ufficiale di Anagrafe. Visti gli atti d’ufficio. Certifica che: il Sig. Vespini Veronica nato il 25-03-1854 a Arezzo è stato iscritto nell’Anagrafe della popolazione residente di questo Comune dal Censimento 1871 fino al 22-12-1910 data di cancellazione per decesso."
17. All births are recorded in the Archivio dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence. https://duomo.firenze.it/it/archivio/fondi-archivistici. All deaths are recorded in the Ufficio Anagrafe (Registry office) in Florence. https://www.comune.firenze.it/anagrafe-e-stato-civile.
18. Eva's death is recorded in the Ufficio Anagrafe in Florence: "L’Ufficiale di Anagrafe. Visti gli atti d’ufficio. Certifica che: Sig. De Matteis Eva, nato il 21-05-1876 a Firenze, è stato iscritto nell’Anagrafe della popolazione residente di questo Comune dal Censimento 1876 fino al 09-05-1908 data di cancellazione per decesso."
19. This marriage is noted in the margin of Rita's birth record in the Archivio dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence.
20. Quarant’anni di spettacolo in Italia attraverso l’opera di Maria De’ Matteis: Provincia di Firenze, Firenze, Plazzo Medici Riccardi, 21 giugno-12 agosto. 1979. Firenze: Vallecchi. pp. 11-12.
21. Quarant’anni di spettacolo in Italia attraverso l’opera di Maria De’ Matteis: Provincia di Firenze, Firenze, Plazzo Medici Riccardi, 21 giugno-12 agosto. 1979. Firenze: Vallecchi. pp. 11-12.
22. Matini, Ugo (1896). Firenze d'oggi[Florence Today] (in Italian). Florence: E. Ariani. p. 315.
23. An official notice of the move is included in a letter dated October 1, 1906 from Ulisse and Sergio De Matteis to the City of Florence. A copy is preserved in the Archivio Storico Comunale di Firenze (ACSF) BA 1/4 #16-17 Santa Maria Novella.
24. Antonio Pavan, “Della pittura su vetro e del laboratorio De Matteis,” L’arte in Italia III (1870): 68-69.
25. Giovanna Gaeta Bertelà, "Il restauro del Palazzo del Podestà," in Studi e ricerche di collezionismo e museografia Firenze 1820-1920, Pisa: Scuola Normale Superiore, 1985. pp. 195-96.
26. Diane Finiello Zervas, Orsanmichele a Firenze. Modena: F.C. Panini, 1996. Vol 1, pp.282-84.
27. Francesco Fiumalbi (7 February 2016), "Ulisse De Matteis e l'Assunzione di Maria Vergine. Un piccolo capolavoro su vetro per la cattedrale di San Miniato," Retrieved 12 July 2025.
28. Roberta Roani Villani, "Restauri a San Miniato al Tedesco: documenti per una storia," Bollettino dell'Accadema degli Euleti di San Miniato al Tedesco 63 (1996): 179–80.
29. Virgilio Grassi, Guida storico-artistico del Duomo di Siena e sue adiacenze, Siena: Stab. Tip. s. Bernardino, 1924. p. 30. Grassi misspelled De Matteis' name as De Mattiis.
30. Cristina Buscioni, Giuseppe Partini: Architetto del purismo senese. Florence: Electa, 1981. p. 57, note 45.
31. Luigi Mussini, Scritti d’Arte [Writings on Art] (in Italian). Florence: Le Monnier, 1880, pp. 202-214.
32. There is a great deal of correspondence about this window in the Archives of Santa Croce: Archivio dell'Opera di Santa Croce (AOSC), Affari, Filza VIII, 1884, #2.
33. Ferdinando Resasco, Staglieno Camposanto, Genoa, Tip. della "Borsa" Fiore e Scoma, 1926. p. 386.
34. Archivio di San Michele Visdomini, Filza Restauri, Conteggi, Tasse, Ricevute. A bill from the Francini company dated Feb 19, 1872, records: "Eseguito No 4 finestroni alti M 2,27 e larghi M 1,40 a vetri colorati e nel centro dei medesimi in busto eseguito il SS. Redentore, S. Michele, S. Giuseppe, S. Giovanni, ed altri ornamenti il tutto pitturato a smalto dall’Artista Ulisse De Matteis, e tutti impiombati sul sistema degli artefici di tal genere del 1500."
35. L'officina De Matteis per la costruzione e per il restauro di vetrate dipinte a smalto con ustione, secondo il sistema degli antichi maestri in Firenze, Florence: Salvadore Landi, 1906.
36. Fantappiè, Renzo (2000). L'Ottocento a Prato[The 19th-century in Prato] (in Italian). Prato: CariPrato. p. 256.
37. Details of De Matteis' work in Prato Cathedral are recorded in the writings of Giuseppe Nesti, I ricordi di Don Giuseppe Nesti (1857-82) held in the Biblioteca Roncioniana in Prato.
38. Antonio Pavan, “Della pittura su vetro e del laboratorio De Matteis,” L’arte in Italia III (1870): 68-69.
39. Cesare Guasti, "Descrizione delle pitture a fresco eseguite in una cappella della Cattedrale di Prato dal Cav. Alessandro Franchi pratese," in Scritti d'arte di Cesare Guasti, Prato: Vestri, 1897. pp. 319-33.
40. Rizzo, Anna Padoa (1997). La Cappella dell'Assunta nel Duomo di Prato. Prato: CariPrato; Claudio Martini.
41. Marchini, Giuseppe (1975). Prato: Guida artistica. Florence. p. 43.
42. Domenico Toncelli, La casa di Santa Caterina a Siena, Rome: Desclée & Co., 1909. p. 80.
43. Lucinat, Cristina Acidini (1993). Benozzo Gozzoli: la cappella dei Magi[Benozzo Gozzoli: The Chapel of the Magi] (in Italian). Milan: Electa. p. 19.
44. Archivio storico della Provincia di Firenze, Consiglio Provinciale di Firenze 1875-76, f.28, parte III, ins 22: Descrizione dettagliata dei lavori eseguiti nel Palazzo già Riccardi dal 15 Febb a tutto il 19 Febb 1876. "...riparazione delle due finestre e sostituzione ai cristalli spuliti di una di vetri a testo (sistema antico) e ai vetri chiari dell’altra (che da sul cortile) di vetri fatti eseguire appostamente e colorati in senso artistico con ornati tratti da esemplari ricavati da quelli della stessa cappella."
45. Romby, Giuseppina Carla. "Il monumento diviso: trasformazioni del Palazzo dopo i Riccardi e fino ad oggi." In Il palazzo Medici-Riccardi. Florence: Giunti, 1990. pp. 174-75.
46. The firm's 1906 catalog notes "A window to complete those of the salone of Michelangelo carried out by Giovane da Udine."
47. De Matteis’ collaboration with Bechi is noted in the firm’s brochures: L'officina De Matteis per la costruzione e per il restauro di vetrate dipinte a smalto con ustione, secondo il sistema degli antichi maestri in Firenze, published in 1906.
48. Bozzi, Gianni (2000). Cattedrale e chiostro di San Lorenzo a Genova. Genoa: Sagep. p. 90.
49. Francesco Baldry, John Temple Leader e il Castello di Vincigliata: un episodio di restauro e di collezionismo nella Firenze dell'Ottocento, Florence: Olschki, 1997. pp. 158-59.
50. Scott Leader, Vincigliata and Maiano. Florence, G. Barbèra: 1891, also mentions this window on pp. 71-72.
51. The windows were restored between 2015-19 by the York Glaziers Trust. "The Trust Return to Lastingham» The York Glaziers Trust". www.yorkglazierstrust.org. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
52. "St. James Episcopal Church in Florence".
53. "CHIESA AMERICANA. — Un finestrone minutamente decorato." p. 7.
54. "St. James in Florence Newsletter, 2008".
55. Much of the correspondence concerning De Matteis' work in Siena Cathedral is preserved in the archive of the cathedral.
56. Giuseppe Cruciani Fabozzi, "La storia tradita: guida ai monumenti infedeli d'Italia: il duomo di Siena," L'architettura 322/323 (1982): 619-20. These pages outline a chronology of De Matteis' work in Siena Cathedral.
57. These are listed in the 1906 catalog.
58. Documents concerning the opening of the masonry and the making of the stained glass windows are preserved in the Siena cathedral archive. “Finestroni riaperti sul Cornicione Della navate centrale eseguito della Ditta Mattei di Firenze (1885),” AOMS, Carteggio, atti e copialettere, Affari diversi 1770-1915, 159, 1875-1919 [15].
59. Elio Manna, Guida storico-artistica del Duomo di Siena, Siena: Cesare Grassi, 1908. p. 123-24.
60. Nancy Thompson, “Architectural Restoration and Stained Glass in Nineteenth-Century Siena: The Place of Light in Giuseppe Partini’s Purismo,” This Year’s Work in Medievalism, ed. Gwendolyn Morgan, XIX (2004): 41-53.
61. Documents on this work are preserved in the Siena cathedral archive. AOMS, Affari diversi 1770-1915, 159 (3309; “Affari diversi 12”) 1875-1919 [10] (Casella 16) Vetrate della Cupola (1866-1888).
62. Documents on this work are preserved in the Siena cathedral archive. AOMS, Carteggio, Atti e Copialettere, “Carteggio e atti diversi in fascicoli annuali 1871-1920,”  101 (old number 3024) [4] (ins. 14) “Vetrate per la laterna della cupola ordinate al prof. Ulisse De Matteis, e per il lavoro del fabbro (1888-1893)”
63. Elio Manna, Guida storico-artistica del Duomo di Siena, Siena: Cesare Grassi, 1908. p. 123-24.
64. Gianni Mazzoni, "Il restauro ottocentesco del Duomo: L'intervento di Giuseppe Partini e la decorazione di Arturo Viligiardi," in Chiusi cristiana, ed. Laura Martini. Chiusi: Edizioni Luì, 1997: 116-141.
65. Cristina Buscioni, Giuseppe Partini: Architetto del purismo senese, Florence: Electa, 1981.
66. Luigi Giometti and Giovanni Di-Cocco, Guida di Chiusi, Poggibonsi: Cappelli, 1910. p.35.
67. Gianni Mazzoni, "Il restauro ottocentesco del Duomo. L’intervento di Giuseppe Partini e la decorazione di Arturo Viligiardi," in Chiusi Cristiana, ed. Laura Martini, Chiusi: Edizione Luì, 1997. pp. 125-30.
68. Antonio Pavan, “Della pittura su vetro e del laboratorio De Matteis,” L’arte in Italia III (1870): 68-69.
69. Esposizione italiana agraria, industriale e artistica tenuta in Firenze nel 1861, Catalogo Ufficiale. Firenze: Barbèra, 1861. p. 207. Access catalog at archive.org: https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_AtziXrGvgFgC
70. Esposizione italiana tenuta in Firenze nel 1861. Relazioni dei giurati classi I a XII, Florence: G. Barbèra, 1864. p. 503.
71. Pietro Selvatico, L'arte nella esposizione di Padova del 1869: Osservazioni, Padova: F. Sacchetto, 1869. pp. 80-81. "Solo dobbiamo fare eccezione per la vetrata dei signori De Matteis e Bruschi di Firenze, appresentante la Vergine a figura intera, perchè collocata si bene colla luce di dietro, che poteva vedersene tutta la focosa trasparenza del colorito ed il purgato disegno delle pieghe, tolto dalle più castigate tradizioni del secolo XIV. Peccato che la testa affatto fuori d'insieme, non rispondesse al rimanente, e che la fascia a colori taglienti da cui era incorniciata tutta la figura, nuocesse all'armonia del totale!"
72. L'esposizione romana delle opere di ogni arte eseguite pel culto cattolico: giornale illustrativo, Rome, Camerale: 1870.
73. Antonio Pavan, “Della pittura su vetro e del laboratorio De Matteis,” L’arte in Italia III (1870): 68-69.
74. L'Esposizione universale di Vienna del 1873 illustrata, Milan: Edoardo Sonzogno, 1873-74. p. 315 and pp. 551-52.
75. Catalogo ufficiale della esposizione artistico-industriale fiorentina. Florence, Tipografia dell'Arte della Stampa. p.24 1. STABILIMENTO FRANCINI (autore Cav. ULISSE DE MATTEIS). Cartoni di lavori già eseguiti in vetro 4. Stabilimento Francini (autore cav. Ulisse De Matteis) vetrata dipinta a smalto
76. Antonio Pavan, Lettere sull'Esposizione artistico-industriale in Firenze, Florence, Tip. dell'Arte della Stampa, 1877. p. 37. From letter 9, dated Thursday July 14, 1877. "Questa Madonna in trono, disegnata come meglio non si potrebbe, e colorita con sicurezza e vivacità insuperabili, ebbe i meritati onori alla esposizione sacra di Roma e a quella mondiale di Vienna."
77. Esposizione regionale toscana di materiali da costruzione, decorazione ed opere di finimento: catalogo, Florence: Tip. dell'arte della Stampa, 1887. p.51. The list ends with a note that De Matteis began painting with enamels in 1857 and has won awards at the 1861 Italian exhibition, the 1862 London exhibition, the 1865 Padua exhibition, the 1870 Rome exhibition, and the 1873 Vienna exhibition. The author most likely meant the 1869 Padua exhibition; there doesn't seem to have been an exhibit in Padua in 1865.
78. Museo artistico-industriale, IV Esposizione 1889: Arte ceramica e vetraia. Catalogo delle opere esposte. Rome: Giuseppe Civelli, 1889. pp. 253 and 336.
79. Esposizione Beatrice di Firenze. Mostra nazionale de' lavori femminili in Firenze. Maggio-Giugno 1890[Beatrice Exhibition in Florence. National Exhibition of Women's Work in Florence] (in Italian). Florence: Civello. 1890. pp. 49, 89, 95.