Arturo Pani Furniture
Arturo Pani has been called the Jean Royère of Mexico. Like the adored French master of the mid-20th century, Pani won an upper-class clientele who appreciated the vivacity and exuberance he brought to interiors. His specialty was using new materials to reinterpret traditional stylings — the sensuous curves and arabesques of the Rococo; stately neoclassical motifs — for a modern context. Pani's work is a thing apart: at once theatrical and distinguished, playful and grand.
Pani was born to splendid settings. His father was Mexico’s ambassador to France, and both Pani and his brother Mario, a noted architect of the International style, would study at the prestigious École des Beaux Arts in Paris. Pani made his name in the late 1930s by designing lavish interiors that belied the austere facade of his brother’s new Hotel Reforma in Mexico City. Mexico’s affluent class welcomed Pani’s technique for juxtaposing Mario’s sleek modernist architectural envelope with voluptuous decor. His style became known as the “Acapulco look” in the 1930s, when Pani became the blossoming Pacific resort’s decorator of choice to the jet set. Pani’s own Acapulco villa would become a favorite backdrop for the society photographer Slim Aarons.
Though Pani frequently created furniture along the strict, geometric lines associated with mid-century modernism — and did, on occasion, produce pieces with wildly flowing futuristic lines — his signature designs were those that offered an idiosyncratic, spare-yet-sumptuous take on historical forms.
Pani’s favorite material was wrought iron, usually gilded. With it, he produced tables with elaborate sheaf-of-wheat bases, or scrolling baroque supports; chairs with frames made of iron rods bent to suggest the sinuous seatbacks and cabriole legs of Louis XV pieces; or — jumping a stylistic generation forward — designs with Louis XVI elements such as arrows and chevrons. Pani’s work has again become chic. As you will see on these pages, like few others, Arturo Pani had a true sense of drama. Virtually everything he designed is a showstopper.
Find vintage Arturo Pani coffee tables, armchairs, side tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Brass
1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Brass
1960s Mexican Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Steel
1960s Mexican Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Steel
1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Metal
1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Velvet, Wood
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Arturo Pani Furniture
Hardwood
Late 20th Century Mid-Century Modern Arturo Pani Furniture
Faux Leather, Lucite
1960s American Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Arturo Pani Furniture
Iron
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Arturo Pani Furniture
Faux Leather, Cane, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Organic Modern Arturo Pani Furniture
Steel
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Upholstery
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Arturo Pani Furniture
Upholstery, Walnut
Late 19th Century American Victorian Antique Arturo Pani Furniture
Cane, Wood
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Arturo Pani Furniture
Upholstery
1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mexican Hollywood Regency Arturo Pani Furniture
Onyx
1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Brass
1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Brass
1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Brass, Iron, Gold Leaf
1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Iron, Brass, Gold Leaf
1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Arturo Pani Furniture
Iron
1950s Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
1960s Mexican Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Marble, Brass
1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arturo Pani Furniture
Brass, Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Arturo Pani Furniture
Marble, Wrought Iron