Piero Fornasetti Sole Chair, 1999
View Similar Items
Piero Fornasetti Sole Chair, 1999
About the Item
- Creator:Piero Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 37.41 in (95 cm)Width: 15.75 in (40 cm)Depth: 15.75 in (40 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1990-1999
- Date of Manufacture:1999
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Munich, DE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1005031465352
Piero Fornasetti
The Italian artist and designer Piero Fornasetti was one of the wittiest and most imaginative talents of the 20th century. He crafted an inimitable decorative style from a personal vocabulary of images that included birds, butterflies, hot-air balloons, architecture and — most frequently, and in some 500 variations — an enigmatic woman’s face based on that of Cavalieri. Fornasetti used transfer prints of these images, rendered in the style of engravings, to decorate an endless variety of furnishings and housewares that ranged from chairs, tables and decorative objects to dinner plates, table lamps and umbrella stands. His work is archly clever, often Surrealist and always fun.
Fornasetti was born in Milan, the son of an accountant, and he lived his entire life in the city. He showed artistic talent as a child and enrolled at Milan’s Brera Academy of Fine Art in 1930, but was expelled after two years for consistently failing to follow his professors’ orders.
A group of Fornasetti's hand-painted silk scarves, displayed in the 1933 Triennale di Milano, caught the eye of the architect and designer Gio Ponti, who, in the 1940s, became the artist's collaborator and patron. Beginning in the early 1950s, they created a striking series of desks, bureaus and secretaries that pair Ponti’s signature angular forms with Fornasetti’s decorative motifs — lighthearted arrangements of flowers and birds on some pieces, austere architectural imagery on others. The two worked together on numerous commissions for interiors, though their greatest project has been lost: the first-class lounges and restaurants of the luxury ocean liner Andrea Doria, which sank in 1956.
Fornasetti furnishings occupy an unusual and compelling niche in the decorative arts: they are odd yet pack a serious punch. They act, essentially, as functional sculpture. A large Fornasetti piece such as a cabinet or a desk can change the character of an entire room; his smaller works have the aesthetic power of a vase of flowers, providing a bright and alluring decorative note. The chimerical, fish-nor-fowl nature of Fornasetti’s work may be its greatest strength. It stands on its own. Bringing the Fornasetti look into the future is Barnaba Fornasetti, who took the reins of the company after his father's death.
Find vintage Piero Fornasetti dinner plates, chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Piero Fornasetti Sole Brass Tripod Side TableBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Munich, DEPiero Fornasetti Sole Brass tripod side table This gorgeous collectors item is a ’Sole' side table by Piero Fornasetti, signed underneath with its ori...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Rare Piero Fornasetti Tabby Cat Tray, 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Munich, DEA fabulous light-colored and black version of the tromp l’oeil Tabby cat designed by Piero Fornasetti. Originally designed and produced in the mid-1950s as per the Fornasetti catalog...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
MaterialsMetal
- Fornasetti Porcelain Moorhead Italy 1950s SignedBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Munich, DEEarly Vintage Piero Fornasetti flower pot in white and black cast ceramic themed “Moor’s Head”. The theme of the moor’s head takes inspiration...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Hollywood Regency Planters and Jardinieres
MaterialsPorcelain
- rare set of 6 chairs by melchiorre begaBy Melchiorre BegaLocated in Munich, DEnice and elegant dining set by melchiorre bega. for re-upholstery or up-holstered in fabric of your choice.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBrass
$2,746 Sale Price / set30% Off - FK6725 Tulip Chair by Fabricius and Kastholm '2 Available'By Jørgen Kastholm & Preben FabriciusLocated in Munich, DEShowroom models in good condition. With swivel bases. These chairs have been designed 1968 and produced by Walter knoll.Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather
$1,867 Sale Price / item26% Off - Wonderful and Unique Dining Chairs by Theodor HellbergBy Theodor HellbergLocated in Munich, DEA unique pair - handcrafted in two kinds of wood 1935 - by cabinetmaker Theodor Hellberg located in Norrköping/ Denmark.Category
Vintage 1930s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Sole Chair by Piero Fornasetti for Fornasetti MilanoBy Piero Fornasetti, FornasettiLocated in Dorchester, MADesigned in the 1950s, the Sole Chair by Piero Fornasetti features a repeating radiant sun motif (a transferred lithographic print). In this ...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Side Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Birch
- Wood and Metal "Balloon" Chair by Piero FornasettiBy Piero FornasettiLocated in East Hampton, NYPiero Fornasetti lithographed wood and painted metal side chair.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- 'Sole' (Sun) Chair by FornasettiBy FornasettiLocated in London, GBContemporary production of Piero Fornasetti's design from the Fornasetti Studio. Transfer printed and hand-colored decoration on wood, in tones of cheerful yellow mottled with ochre,...Category
2010s Italian Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLacquer
- Parisiano ChairBy Stamford Modern, Ico ParisiLocated in Westport, CTIntroducing our Exquisite Parisiano Chair – a blend of timeless elegance and modern functionality. Inspired by Ico Parisi's iconic designs, this chair ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsLinen, Walnut
$3,200 / item - Noa Chair PinkLocated in Cincinnati, USIs it possible for an inanimate object to truly embody the essence of a yogi? To possess strength and harmony simultaneously? To effortlessly stand in the face of the seemingly impossible and make it’s own reality? Ultimately balance is the beating heart of the Noa chair...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSheet Metal
$368 / item - Industrial Dining ChairsLocated in Sagaponack, NYA good set of six (6) indoor or outdoor black dining chairs having well-formed and dramatically angled tubular frames with seats and backs of perforated steel.Category
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$12,000 / set