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Fontana Arte

Best known for its elegant and innovative vintage lighting fixtures, the Milan-based firm Fontana Arte pioneered one of the key features of 20th-century and contemporary Italian design: the union of artistry and industry wrought by partnerships between creative talents — chiefly architects — and entrepreneurial businesses. Fontana Arte is further distinguished by having had as artistic director, in succession, four of Italy’s most inventive modernist designers: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, French transplant Max Ingrand and Gae Aulenti.

The bread and butter of the glassmaking company that Luigi Fontana founded in 1881 was plate-glass panels for the construction industry. In 1930, Fontana met Ponti — then the artistic director of the Richard Ginori ceramics workshop and the editor of the influential magazine Domus — at a biannual design exhibition that became the precursor to today’s Milan Design Triennale, and the two hatched an idea for a furniture and housewares firm. Fontana Arte was incorporated in 1932 with Ponti as its chief of design. He contributed several lamps that remain among the company’s signature works, including the orb-atop-cone Bilia table lamp and the 0024 pendant — a stratified hanging sphere.

The following year, Fontana Arte partnered with the influential Milan studio glassmaker and retailer Pietro Chiesa, who took over as artistic director. Chiesa’s designs for lighting — as well as for tables and items including vases and ashtrays — express an appreciation for fluidity and simplicity of line, as seen in works such as his flute-shaped Luminator floor lamp and the 1932 Fontana table — an arched sheet of glass that is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

Six years after Chiesa’s 1948 death, the École des Beaux Arts–trained Max Ingrand took over as head of design at Fontana Arte. Ingrand brought a similarly expressive formal sensibility to wares such as lamps and mirrors, but he also had a masterful eye for the manipulation of glass surfaces — whether they be cut, frosted, acid-etched or sand-blasted. His classic design is the Fontana table lamp of 1954, which has a truncated cone shade and curved body, both of which are made of pure, chic white-frosted glass.

Following Ingrand, the often-audacious Italian architect Gae Aulenti served as the company’s artistic director from 1979 to 1996, and while she generally insisted that furnishings take second place aesthetically to architecture, she made an exception for Fontana Arte pieces such as the Tavolo con Ruote series of glass coffee and dining tables on wheels, bold lighting pieces such as the Parola series and the Giova, a combination flower vase and table lamp. As a key incubator of modern design under Aulenti’s tenure, Fontana Arte remained true to its long-held commitment — creating objects that have never been less than daring.

Find vintage Fontana Arte lighting fixtures such as pendants, table lamps and more on 1stDibs.

Average Sold Price
$4,788
Styles
Materials
Related Creators
Model 0408 Table Lamp by Fontana Arte
By Fontana Arte
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Model 0408 Table Lamp by Fontana Arte. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa the 1930s. Desk lamp comprising of an aluminum trough shaped diffused and classic teal hued glass by ...
Category

1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Fontana Arte

Materials

Aluminum

  • Model 0408 Table Lamp by Fontana Arte
  • Model 0408 Table Lamp by Fontana Arte
  • Model 0408 Table Lamp by Fontana Arte
  • Model 0408 Table Lamp by Fontana Arte
H 9 in W 17.5 in D 4.5 in
Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte Flushmounts
By Fontana Arte, Max Ingrand
Located in New York, NY
Minimalist and elegant flush mounts designed by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte in the 1960s. Polished nickel frames with a low iron glass diffusers. Each holds three candelabra sockets...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Fontana Arte

Materials

Nickel

Fontana Arte Flush Mount, circa 1960
By Fontana Arte, Max Ingrand
Located in Vienna, AT
Model 1940 flush mount by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte, 1950-1960s. White enameled steel base with chrome details and a textured and curved frosted glass diffuser. Good original cond...
Category

1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Fontana Arte

Materials

Steel, Chrome

  • Fontana Arte Flush Mount, circa 1960
  • Fontana Arte Flush Mount, circa 1960
  • Fontana Arte Flush Mount, circa 1960
  • Fontana Arte Flush Mount, circa 1960
H 14.18 in W 14.18 in D 3.15 in
Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte Ceiling Pendants Model 2259
By Max Ingrand, Fontana Arte
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Max Ingrand for Fontana model 2259 ceiling pendants, a pair Designed and made in Italy in 1960s. Glass is 16 inches in height and 6 inches wide. Take one candelabra bulb each. Co...
Category

1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Fontana Arte

Materials

Brass

Floor lamp model 2576 by Max Ingrand, Fontana Arte, Italy
By Max Ingrand, Fontana Arte
Located in Brussels, BE
Floor lamp whose nickel-plated brass structure supports 4 large transparent / green colored glass legs fixed by two large cross-shaped spacers. The floor lamp is equipped with a cyl...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Fontana Arte

Materials

Brass, Nickel

Max Ingrand occasional tables for Fontana Arte 1950 c.e.
By Max Ingrand, Fontana Arte
Located in Palermo, IT
Max Ingrand pair of low coffee tables Fontana Arte, Italy, ''1950s. With wooden base and interlocking shaped crystal top. La bellezza e la storia parlano da se. In particular, we ca...
Category

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Fontana Arte

Materials

Crystal

  • Max Ingrand occasional tables for Fontana Arte  1950 c.e.
  • Max Ingrand occasional tables for Fontana Arte  1950 c.e.
  • Max Ingrand occasional tables for Fontana Arte  1950 c.e.
  • Max Ingrand occasional tables for Fontana Arte  1950 c.e.
No Reserve
H 16.54 in W 21.26 in D 19.49 in
Parola sconce by Gae Aulenti & Piero Castiglioni for Fontana Arte, Italy, 1980s
By Fontana Arte, Gae Aulenti
Located in Milano, IT
Crafted by the collaborative efforts of Gae Aulenti and Piero Castiglioni, the Parola lamp showcases a harmonious fusion of three distinct glassworking techniques. The adjustable sha...
Category

1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Fontana Arte

Materials

Metal

Max Ingrand low coffee table 1950 c.a.
By Max Ingrand, Fontana Arte
Located in Palermo, IT
Max Ingrand Fontana Arte, Italia, 1950 ca. basamenti in legno curvato e piano in cristallo sagomato ad incastro. La bellezza e la storia parlano da se. In particolare possiamo notare...
Category

20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Fontana Arte

Materials

Crystal

  • Max Ingrand low coffee table 1950 c.a.
  • Max Ingrand low coffee table 1950 c.a.
  • Max Ingrand low coffee table 1950 c.a.
  • Max Ingrand low coffee table 1950 c.a.
H 16.54 in W 21.26 in D 19.49 in
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Fontana Arte furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Fontana Arte furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of glass and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Fontana Arte furniture, although gray editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 784 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 132 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original furniture by Fontana Arte were created in the mid-century modern style in europe during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Stilnovo, Barovier&Toso, and Mazzega Murano. Prices for Fontana Arte furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at £128 and can go as high as £129,006, while a piece like these, on average, fetch £3,363.

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