While working under the polymath Gio Ponti — arguably the most important figure in 20th-century Italian modernism — furniture designer Franco Albini nurtured a love for modern forms combined with traditional craft techniques.
Albini is widely known for working with organic materials such as rattan and cane for his chairs and other seating, but he also played a pivotal role in the Italian rationalist movement of the early 20th century, which saw architects and furniture makers applying a strict emphasis on geometry in their work. Rationalists drew on Ancient Roman architecture but rejected ornament, much in the way that Le Corbusier and celebrated Bauhaus figures such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe had in their modernist furniture.
Albini received his degree in architecture from the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1929, and, in 1931, he founded his practice in Milan, where he tackled workers’ housing and other reconstruction projects. A gifted urban planner, he also developed the Palazzo Bianco, Palazzo Rosso and Tesoro di San Lorenzo museums in Genoa. While Albini is revered for his Margherita chair — a Triennale Milano award winner created for Bonacina in 1951 — he also collaborated with manufacturers Poggi and Cassina in the 1940s on seating, tables and more that embodied his artistic vision. Of that mid-century work, the one piece that perhaps best captures this vision is the iconic Luisa chair.
With its cherry red upholstery and sinuous wooden legs that seem to float aboveground, the Luisa is a genuine masterpiece. It is also a testament to Albini’s perfectionism, as it endured several prototypes — including one made by Knoll in the late 1940s — and took approximately 15 years to design. Poggi launched the final version of the armchair in 1955, earning Albini the prestigious Compasso d’Oro from Italy’s Association for Industrial Design. It is produced today by Cassina. Albini named the chair for someone who likely saw the process firsthand: his personal secretary of two decades, Luisa Colombini.
Find vintage Franco Albini furniture on 1stDibs.
20th Century, Franco Albini Pair of TN6 Cicognino Coffee Tables in Wood, 50s
By Franco Albini, Poggi
Located in Turin, Turin
An iconic design with a refined and essential taste, which in its playful form evokes a reassuring feeling of familiarity. Franco Albini created the table by reducing its structure t...
Wood
Franco Albini Cicognino Coffee Table in Teak Wood by Poggi Pavia 1970s Italy
By Franco Albini, Poggi
Located in Cascina, Pisa
Cicognino coffee table entirely made in teak wood designed by Franco Albini in 1952 and firstly produced by the Italian company, Poggi Pavia from the 1950s. The Cicognino coffee t...
Teak
Cavalletto Dining or Working Table by Franco Albini for Poggi
By Franco Albini, Poggi
Located in Barcelona, ES
Cavalletto or TL2 dining or working table designed in 1950 by italian architect Franco Albini, old Poggi edition. Wood construction with beveled edges tabletop and crossed legs with ...
Metal
$2,679Sale Price|20% Off
H 29.14 in W 40.95 in D 41.74 in
Decorative Rosewood Table from the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries
Located in Opole, PL
Decorative Rosewood Table from the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries We present you a rosewood oval table with a top finished with openwork carv...
Rosewood
$1,435 / item
H 31.5 in W 15.75 in D 16.15 in
Franco Albini Cicognino Wood Side Table for Cassina, Italy, new
By Franco Albini, Cassina
Located in Berlin, DE
Prices vary dependent on the material of the table. Available in Canaletto Walnut, Natural Ash, Black Stained Ash or Amaranth stained ash. Side table designed by Franco Albini in 1...
Wood
$13,549
H 28.55 in W 70.87 in D 27.96 in
Rare Mahogany 'TL2' Cavalletto Table / Desk by Franco Albini for Poggi, Italy
By Franco Albini, Poggi
Located in London, GB
A rare mahogany version of the Cavaletto or TL2 table designed by the great neo-rationalist designer, Franco Albini. Designed in 1950 for manufacturers Poggi...
Steel
$3,732Sale Price|20% Off
H 31.5 in Dm 16.54 in
Franco Albini for Poggi Italian Cicognino Wood Side Table 1950s
By Franco Albini, Poggi
Located in Reggio Emilia, IT
Italian midcentury wood side table model TN6 Cicognino designed by Franco Albini and produced by Poggi Pavia in 1953, production Italy 1960s Bibliography: Domus 312 (November 1955),...
Wood
$3,190Sale Price|29% Off
H 23.23 in Dm 31.5 in
Round Rattan and Wood Coffee Table. Italian Work in the Style of Franco Albini
By Franco Albini
Located in Marcq-en-Barœul, Hauts-de-France
This very nice and unusual round coffee table is made of a very nice rattan work with a wooden top. This is an Italian work in the Style of famous designer Franco Albini. Circa 1950
Rattan, Wood
$3,067Sale Price|42% Off
H 31.5 in Dm 15.75 in
Franco Albini Cicognino Side Table in Wood by Poggi Pavia, 1970s Italy
By Franco Albini, Poggi
Located in Brescia, Brescia
This exquisite Cicognino side table, designed by Franco Albini and produced by Poggi Pavia in the 1970s, is a timeless piece of Italian design. Crafted from high-quality wood, this t...
Wood, Teak
$13,159
H 27.96 in W 70.87 in D 27.56 in
TL 22 Cavalletto table designed by Franco Albini for Poggi Pavia, Italy 1955
By Franco Albini, Poggi
Located in Piacenza, Italy
The TL 22 Cavalletto table, designed by Franco Albini for Poggi Pavia in 1955, is a stunning example of midcentury Italian design. Featuring a minimalist, elegant structure, the tabl...
Wood
TL 22 Wooden table by Franco Albini for Poggi, Italy, 1950s
By Poggi, Franco Albini
Located in Piacenza, Italy
Table mod. TL22, by Franco Albini for Poggi. The table, made entirely of wood, consists of an oval top supported by a base with elegant oblique legs. Italy, 1950s Bibliography: G. ...
Wood
$6,000
H 14.97 in W 47.64 in D 18.9 in
Giuseppe Scapinelli. Mid-Century Modern "Spider" Coffee Table in Wood
By Giuseppe Scapinelli
Located in Sao Paulo, SP
Giuseppe Scapinelli. "Spider" coffee table made of solid caviuna wood with glass top. This Brazilian modern coffee table represent the approximation of Scapinelli with biomorphism, T...
Wood
$9,240Sale Price|20% Off
H 16.54 in W 45.28 in D 21.66 in
Coffee Table in Caviuna wood, Giuseppe Scapinelli, Brazilian Mid-Century Modern
By Giuseppe Scapinelli
Located in Sao Paulo, SP
Discover the breathtaking beauty and elegance of the Giuseppe Scapinelli coffee table, a true masterpiece designed by the master Italian-Brazilian designer during the 1960s. This rem...
Glass, Wood
$5,861
H 11.82 in W 33.47 in D 20.87 in
Early 20th Century Art Deco Coffee Table by Guglielmo Urlich , Wax Polished
By Guglielmo Ulrich
Located in Vigonza, Padua
Coffee table, Ming Style, by Guglielmo Urlich, in solid walnut , wax finished, circa 1930s. Measures cm: H29 W85 D53 About Guglielmo Urlich Guglielmo Ulrich (Millan, 1904 – 1977) w...
Walnut