Fornasetti Dinner Plates

Piero Fornasetti was, in a word, a rebel. While his mid-century design contemporaries focused on streamlined, architectural forms, Fornasetti was all about decorative whimsy, enchantment and Surrealism, adorning his dinner plates and other works with dozens of eclectic motifs that he drew himself.

While you’ll find everything from animals to historic Italian architecture printed on Fornasetti’s dinner plates, chairs, tables and other designs, the illustrator and furniture maker’s signature motif is the face of a mysterious woman, one loosely modeled after opera singer Lina Cavalieri, who became his fantastical muse.

Born in Milan, Fornasetti was a 20th-century Renaissance man, mastering drawing and painting, graphic design and product design. He trained at the prestigious Brera Academy of Fine Art in Milan for two years before being thrown out for his rebellious nature. But Fornasetti was a tour de force, exhibiting hand-painted silk scarves at the Triennale di Milano just a year later — works that would draw the eye of acclaimed designer Gio Ponti. Ponti and Fornasetti would collaborate on furnishings and interiors for decades, and it was for a Ponti-organized exhibition in 1947 that Fornasetti would design his first set of plates.

Having never worked with ceramics before, Fornasetti vigorously studied the medium by visiting studios and factories, working with experts to learn all aspects of design and production. His efforts resulted in a vast assortment of collectible plates, including 350 variations on the Lina Cavalieri motif that comprised the “Tema e Variazioni” (“Theme and Variation”) series. But his dinner plates feature many other quintessential Fornasetti-style illustrations, from characters from Italian plays to hot-air balloons to dissected fruits.

Today, the Fornasetti empire is managed by the designer’s son, Barnaba, who continues his father’s idiosyncratic legacy. The famous dinner plates are not only found on the tables of design tastemakers across the globe, but also in the collections of such institutions as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

Find a collection of authentic Fornasetti dinner plates on 1stDibs.