Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
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.
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Fabric, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Leather
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Leather, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Brass, Steel
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Metal
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Fabric, Chenille, Upholstery, Walnut
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Metal
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Steel
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Brass, Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Cherry
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Fabric
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Velvet, Ash, Plywood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Wood
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Fabric, Walnut
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Leather, Rosewood
1950s Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Wood
1950s Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Wood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Brass, Steel
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Leather
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Fabric, Walnut
1950s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Metal
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Leather, Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Brass, Steel
1950s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Metal, Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Steel
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Armchairs
Metal