Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
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 (1953). Borsani would be the firm’s lead designer for 30 years, while fostering work by Vico Magistretti, Carlo di 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.
1980s Italian Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
1980s Italian Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal, Brass
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Leather, Plastic, Plywood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Birch
1650s Italian Mid-Century Modern Antique Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Wood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal, Brass
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Aluminum
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
1950s Italian Other Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Brass, Iron
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
1940s European Art Deco Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Leather, Beech
1970s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Steel, Brass
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Leather, Wood
1950s Italian Scandinavian Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Steel
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Aluminum
1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal, Stainless Steel
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Wood, Leather
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal, Aluminum
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
20th Century Italian Modern Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Leather
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Wood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Fabric
Mid-20th Century Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Leather
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Steel
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Wood, Faux Leather
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Teak
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Enamel
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Aluminum
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Chairs
Steel