Osvaldo Borsani Seating
With his stylish and technically innovative furniture, Osvaldo Borsani helped change the face of Italian design in the 1950s and ’60s. His sofas and chairs, featuring deeply upholstered seating and adjustable position settings, have an aura of optimism and efficiency that still seems fresh and lively today.
Born in the commune of Varedo in northern Italy’s Lombardy region, Borsani studied at the Brera Academy in Milan — the same school attended by such luminaries as designer Piero Fornasetti and artist Lucio Fontana — as well as the Polytechnic University of Milan. Borsani first worked for his father’s furniture-making firm, Arredamenti Borsani, an atelier influenced by the more expressive and curvaceous wing of Art Deco design.
By 1953, when, along with his twin brother, Fulgenzio — the pair also created this visionary mid-century villa — Borsani opened the furniture company Tecno, his design sensibilities had evolved toward furnishings with strong, simple forms enhanced by mechanical innovations, as with the P40 adjustable armchair. Borsani would be the firm’s lead designer for 30 years, while fostering work by Vico Magistretti, Carlo De Carli, Robin Day and others.
Similar to Gio Ponti in the earliest years of his career, Borsani first created designs marked by lush and buoyant lines: tables with voluptuous curved legs, sofas with undulating backrests.
But Borsani’s best-known and most novel pieces date from Tecno’s initial furniture lines: the adjustable D70 sofa, which folds open to make a daybed, and the P40 recliner. The latter — now included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum — is an articulated lounger with a back, seat and leg rest that can be moved into 486 different positions. Not only is it extremely comfortable, it is also enduringly chic.
Find a collection of vintage Osvaldo Borsani tables, dining chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Chrome
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Chrome
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Aluminum
1940s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Velvet, Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Metal
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Textile, Wood
1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Metal, Iron
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Teak
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Aluminum, Steel
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Aluminum
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Brass, Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Brass, Steel
20th Century Italian Modern Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Aluminum
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Chrome
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Leather, Plywood, Mahogany
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Leather, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Metal, Bronze
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Brass
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Brass, Steel
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Leather, Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Fabric, Chenille, Upholstery, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Brass, Steel
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Brass, Steel
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Leather
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Leather, Plastic, Plywood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Metal, Brass
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Steel
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Metal, Brass
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Brass, Steel
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Aluminum, Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Aluminum
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Metal
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Fabric, Plywood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Fabric
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Velvet, Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Velvet, Walnut
1950s Italian Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Iron
1940s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Fabric, Wood
1970s Italian Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Metal
1930s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Straw, Oak
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Brass, Steel
1950s Italian Scandinavian Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Steel
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Faux Leather, Wood
1940s Italian Organic Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Velvet, Wood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Leather, Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Metal, Brass
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Velvet, Wood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Metal, Brass
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Metal, Brass
1950s Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Metal
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Seating
Fabric, Walnut