«Adatte al culto e del tutto moderne». Le arti decorative e industriali nella chiesa dell’ENAPI all’Esposizione d’arte sacra di Padova del 1931

During the 1920s and 1930s several modern sacred art exhibitions were held in Italy, fostering a lively debate between the artists and the clergy on the features of both the religious artwork and the display methods chosen to exhibit it. In order to assess the role played by decorative and industrial arts within this debate, this paper examines the case study of the chapel which was presented by ENAPI (Ente Nazionale per l'Artigianato e la Piccola Industria) at the International Modern Art Exhibition in Padua in 1931. Created by Giovanni Guerrini and furnished by several renowned designers, the ENAPI chapel aimed at offering items that served as expressions of the current modern style, while at the same time being suitable to the needs of worship. Encouraging a renewal of liturgical decorations and furnishings, the exhibition sought to provide artisans with high quality models which they could copy in their own productions. To this end, the display setting was arranged to highlight the quality of the liturgical objects on show by exhibiting them in the broader context of a church, thus combining their specific features and aesthetical values with the sacred space for which they were intended.