The Italian artist and designer Piero Fornasetti was one of the wittiest and most imaginative talents of the 20th century. He crafted an inimitable decorative style from a personal vocabulary of images that included birds, butterflies, hot-air balloons, architecture and — most frequently, and in some 500 variations — an enigmatic woman’s face based on that of Cavalieri. Fornasetti used transfer prints of these images, rendered in the style of engravings, to decorate an endless variety of furnishings and housewares that ranged from chairs, tables and decorative objects to dinner plates, table lamps and umbrella stands. His work is archly clever, often Surrealist and always fun.
Fornasetti was born in Milan, the son of an accountant, and he lived his entire life in the city. He showed artistic talent as a child and enrolled at Milan’s Brera Academy of Fine Art in 1930, but was expelled after two years for consistently failing to follow his professors’ orders.
A group of Fornasetti's hand-painted silk scarves, displayed in the 1933 Triennale di Milano, caught the eye of the architect and designer Gio Ponti, who, in the 1940s, became the artist's collaborator and patron. Beginning in the early 1950s, they created a striking series of desks, bureaus and secretaries that pair Ponti’s signature angular forms with Fornasetti’s decorative motifs — lighthearted arrangements of flowers and birds on some pieces, austere architectural imagery on others. The two worked together on numerous commissions for interiors, though their greatest project has been lost: the first-class lounges and restaurants of the luxury ocean liner Andrea Doria, which sank in 1956.
Fornasetti furnishings occupy an unusual and compelling niche in the decorative arts: they are odd yet pack a serious punch. They act, essentially, as functional sculpture. A large Fornasetti piece such as a cabinet or a desk can change the character of an entire room; his smaller works have the aesthetic power of a vase of flowers, providing a bright and alluring decorative note. The chimerical, fish-nor-fowl nature of Fornasetti’s work may be its greatest strength. It stands on its own. Bringing the Fornasetti look into the future is Barnaba Fornasetti, who took the reins of the company after his father's death.
Find vintage Piero Fornasetti dinner plates, chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Pair of 1990s open armchairs by Piero Fornasetti's son Barnaba Fornasetti
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Winnetka, IL
A pair of "Tema a variazioni" (Themes and Variations" Piero Fornasetti open armchairs by G. Galli, Italy for Barnaba Fornasetti Milan. Having upswept open arms painted in silver with...
Silver Leaf
English Style Armchair upholstered with fabric By Fornasetti “Library" series
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Roma, IT
We offer for sale a retro armchair inspired by the English style reupholstered between the 90s and early 2000s with a splendid original fabric by Fornasetti series the "Library". Sta...
Cotton
High Ingram chair by Charles R. Mackintosh for Alivar with Fornasetti Fabric
By Piero Fornasetti, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Alivar
Located in Conversano, IT
Iconic High Ingram chair designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and produced by Alivar, dating to the 1980s, a faithful and rigorous reinterpretation of one of the most emblematic sea...
Fabric, Beech
Fornasetti Red Lip Lacquered Bocca Stool
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Piero Fornasetti (Italian, 1913-1988) black and white lacquered wood Bocca stool featuring the red lips of Lina Cavallieri (Italian, 1874-1944), upon three tapering black legs, marke...
Wood
110 Chair by Gio Ponti and Fornasetti for Cassina, 1953
By Piero Fornasetti, Gio Ponti, Cassina
Located in Conversano, IT
Extraordinary Model 110 chair, designed by Gio Ponti in 1951 and produced by Cassina, unanimously recognized as one of the highest and most refined expressions of Italian postwar des...
Fabric, Wood
Piero Fornasetti 'Capitello Ionico' Chair in Black and White, Italy, circa 2006
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in London, GB
A wonderful 'Capitello Ionico' or 'Ionic Capital' wooden chair designed by the great Piero Fornasetti. Originally designed in the 1980, this particular chair is numbered #24 from a v...
Wood, Lacquer
Italian Vintage Design “Musicale” Chair by Pierro Fornasetti, 1950s
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Renens, CH
A Musicale chair by Piero Fornasetti, produced by Atelier Fornasetti during the early 1990s. The Fornasetti company is specialized in hand...
Metal
$5,516Sale Price|20% Off
Mid-Century Piero Fornasetti "Musicale" Lacquer & Painted Italian Chair C. 1960
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Atlanta, GA
Piero Fornasetti (Italian, 1913-1988), circa 1960. Musicale or Musical chair, designed by the esteemed Piero Fornasetti in Italy, during the early 1960s. While most of these chairs ...
Wood, Lacquer
Wood and Metal "Balloon" Chair by Piero Fornasetti
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in East Hampton, NY
Piero Fornasetti lithographed wood and painted metal side chair.
Metal
Chinese Red Lacquered Wood Joint Stool
Located in Kenilworth, IL
Red lacquered square top stool on four legs joined by double box stretchers. China, 19th century.
Hardwood, Paint
$12,900 / set
H 32.68 in W 16.93 in D 18.9 in
Gio Ponti 646 "Leggera" Dining Chairs for Cassina, 1952, Set of 6
By Gio Ponti, Cassina
Located in Lonigo, Veneto
Gio Ponti 646 "Leggera" dining chairs for Cassina, black ash-wood and rope seat, Italy, 1952, set of six. The model 646 "Leggera" is an icon of chair d...
Rope, Ash
$21,500 / set
H 32.68 in W 16.93 in D 18.9 in
Gio Ponti 646 "Leggera" Dining Chairs for Cassina, 1952, Set of 10
By Gio Ponti, Cassina
Located in Lonigo, Veneto
Gio Ponti 646 "Leggera" dining chairs for Cassina, black ash-wood and rope seat, Italy, 1952, set of ten. The Gio Ponti 646 "Leggera" dining chairs, de...
Rope, Ash
Red lacquered wood and rush stools, 1970s mid-century modern
Located in San Francisco, US
This charming French stool from the 1970s showcases the era’s dedication to functional beauty through its rich burgundy wood frame and hand-woven rush seat. The warm reddish-brown wo...
Rush, Wood, Lacquer
$5,277 / item
H 55.52 in W 16.15 in D 13.78 in
Charles Rennie Mackintosh 292 Hill House Chair by Cassina
By Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Chair designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1902. Relaunched in 1973. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. This iconic chair reflects Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s style and his fearless approach to the most challenging manufacturing processes. Originally a furnishing accessory for one of Mackintosh’s major design projects, Hill House in Helensburgh, near Glasgow, Scotland, from which its name derives. The linear, geometric form is evocative of the minimal, abstract lines of Japanese graphics, which confer symbolic and figurative symbolic value to the piece’s striking visual impact. This piece is seen by many critics as not only a chair but also a veritable treatise on the way space can be articulated. The tall back is defined by a succession of vertical lines that are topped with a grid of verticals and horizontals. Thanks to the mastery of the furnitire makers of Meda, in the Brianza area north of Milan, Cassina has re-issued the Hill House chair...
Velvet, Wood
$3,225 / item
H 55.52 in W 16.15 in D 13.78 in
Charles Rennie Mackintosh 292 Hill House Chair for Cassina, Italy, new
By Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Cassina
Located in Berlin, DE
Chair designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1902. Relaunched in 1973. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. Prices vary dependent on color and material of the piece. Originally a fur...
Wood, Velvet
$15,689 / set
H 32.29 in W 16.15 in D 17.52 in
Modernist Vintage Six Superleggera Chairs by Gio Ponti for Cassina 1957 Italy
By Gio Ponti, Cassina
Located in Vienna, AT
Modernist Vintage authentic set of six ( 6 ) Superleggera Dining Chairs or Chairs from black lacquered wood and light brown cane mesh designed 1957 by Gio Ponti and manufactured 199...
Wood
$9,000 / set
H 32.68 in W 15.75 in D 17.33 in
Gio Ponti 699 “Superleggera” Dining Chairs for Cassina, 1957, Set of 4
By Gio Ponti, Cassina
Located in Lonigo, Veneto
Gio Ponti 699 “Superleggera” Dining Chairs for Cassina, Ash, Rope, Italy, 1957, Set of four. In 1957 the Italian furniture manufacturer Amedeo Cassina added a new dining chair to it...
Rope, Ash, Wood
$8,600 / set
H 32.68 in W 16.93 in D 18.9 in
Gio Ponti 646 "Leggera" Dining Chairs for Cassina, 1952, Set of 4
By Gio Ponti, Cassina
Located in Lonigo, Veneto
Gio Ponti 646 "Leggera" dining chairs for Cassina, black ash-wood and rope seat, Italy, 1952, set of four. The Gio Ponti 646 "Leggera" dining chairs, d...
Rope, Ash
$17,200 / set
H 32.68 in W 16.93 in D 18.9 in
Gio Ponti 646 "Leggera" Dining Chairs for Cassina, 1952, Set of 8
By Gio Ponti, Cassina
Located in Lonigo, Veneto
Gio Ponti 646 "Leggera" dining chairs for Cassina, black ash-wood and rope seat, Italy, 1952, set of eight. The model 646 "Leggera" is an icon of chair...
Rope, Ash
$9,432 / set
H 47.05 in W 37.01 in D 16.15 in
Charles Rennie Mackintosh Black Ashwood Willow Italian Pair of Armchairs
By Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Located in Madrid, ES
Pair of armchairs model "Willow" designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for the "Willow Tea Room" in 1903 in Glasgow. Made of black lacquered ashwood structure and upholstered in leather. In its original configuration, the high, semicircular backrest of this solid wood throne served as a divider between the entrance and the tea room behind it. Complex series of lines and shapes reflect the style of Mackintosh. Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macdonald...
Leather, Ash, Lacquer
A Reupholstered Antique English Victorian Library Armchair
Located in London, GB
A large Victorian late 19th century Library chair, newly re upholstered in Velvet. The new fabric copying the original fabric design on the ...
Velvet
Piero Fornasetti Musicale chair
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Dallas, TX
Piero Fornasetti 'Musicale' chair, an early and all original example.
Wood
Piero Fornasetti Stool, Italy, 1950s
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in New York, NY
1950s Piero Fornasetti stool with a musical motif on a red background. Only about 60 were ever made and it was never re-edited adding to its rarity. Condition: Excellent vintage c...
Wood
Piero Fornasetti Sole Chair, 1999
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Munich, DE
A very rare chair by Fornasetti Studios made in Italy towards the latter end of the 20th century. These chairs are handcrafted using the original artisan techniques. It is silk-scree...
Lacquer
Piero Fornasetti Fabric Pouf Brass Table Sun, Italy, 1950
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Vienna, AT
Nice 40“ pouf with classic marked Fornasetti fabric, Italy circa 1955 Large pouf with Fornasetti fabric showing multiple versions of his sun and f...
Brass
Fornasetti Fabric Brass Bench Montgolfière Balloon, Italy, 1950
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Vienna, AT
Fornasetti fabric brass bench Montgolfière balloon, Italy, 1950 Cute bench with Fornasetti fabric depicting Joseph Maximilian von Lütgendorf, Jose...
Brass
Piero Fornasetti Chair
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Beautiful and unique Piero Fornasetti musical chair, Italy, 1960s. Lacquered and hand painted wood, hand-stamped and original paper label to underside.
Lacquer
Rare Sole Chair by Fornasetti Milano
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Munich, DE
Wonderful design made 11.20.1991. Heavily worn, but still amazing.
Lacquer
Capitello Corinzio Chair by Piero Fornasetti
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in East Hampton, NY
Capitello Corinzio chair by Piero Fornasetti.
Metal