Fontana Arte Double-Sided Glass Frame with Mirror, Italy, 1980s Photo Frame
View Similar Items
Fontana Arte Double-Sided Glass Frame with Mirror, Italy, 1980s Photo Frame
About the Item
- Creator:Fontana Arte (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 2.96 in (7.5 cm)Width: 3.55 in (9 cm)Depth: 1.26 in (3.2 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:1980s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Roma, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3067312496862
Fontana Arte
Best known for its elegant and innovative vintage lighting fixtures, the Milan-based firm Fontana Arte pioneered one of the key features of 20th-century and contemporary Italian design: the union of artistry and industry wrought by partnerships between creative talents — chiefly architects — and entrepreneurial businesses. Fontana Arte is further distinguished by having had as artistic director, in succession, four of Italy’s most inventive modernist designers: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, French transplant Max Ingrand and Gae Aulenti.
The bread and butter of the glassmaking company that Luigi Fontana founded in 1881 was plate-glass panels for the construction industry. In 1930, Fontana met Ponti — then the artistic director of the Richard Ginori ceramics workshop and the editor of the influential magazine Domus — at a biannual design exhibition that became the precursor to today’s Milan Design Triennale, and the two hatched an idea for a furniture and housewares firm. Fontana Arte was incorporated in 1932 with Ponti as its chief of design. He contributed several lamps that remain among the company’s signature works, including the orb-atop-cone Bilia table lamp and the 0024 pendant — a stratified hanging sphere.
The following year, Fontana Arte partnered with the influential Milan studio glassmaker and retailer Pietro Chiesa, who took over as artistic director. Chiesa’s designs for lighting — as well as for tables and items including vases and ashtrays — express an appreciation for fluidity and simplicity of line, as seen in works such as his flute-shaped Luminator floor lamp and the 1932 Fontana table — an arched sheet of glass that is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Six years after Chiesa’s 1948 death, the École des Beaux Arts–trained Max Ingrand took over as head of design at Fontana Arte. Ingrand brought a similarly expressive formal sensibility to wares such as lamps and mirrors, but he also had a masterful eye for the manipulation of glass surfaces — whether they be cut, frosted, acid-etched or sand-blasted. His classic design is the Fontana table lamp of 1954, which has a truncated cone shade and curved body, both of which are made of pure, chic white-frosted glass.
Following Ingrand, the often-audacious Italian architect Gae Aulenti served as the company’s artistic director from 1979 to 1996, and while she generally insisted that furnishings take second place aesthetically to architecture, she made an exception for Fontana Arte pieces such as the Tavolo con Ruote series of glass coffee and dining tables on wheels, bold lighting pieces such as the Parola series and the Giova, a combination flower vase and table lamp. As a key incubator of modern design under Aulenti’s tenure, Fontana Arte remained true to its long-held commitment — creating objects that have never been less than daring.
Find vintage Fontana Arte lighting fixtures such as pendants, table lamps and more on 1stDibs.
- Midcentury Fontana Arte Brass and Smoked Glass Magazine Rack Stand, 1960s, ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Roma, ITBeautiful Mid-Century Modern newspaper and magazine rack designed and manufactured by Fontana Arte in the 1960s. It's made of solid brushed brass and thick smoked glass. Dimension...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Italian Mid-Century Solid Gilt Brass Photo Frame, Italy 1950sLocated in Roma, ITDelightful pair of small Italian picure frames finely crafted and engraved in solid brass. These extraordinary jewel frames were made in Italy in the 1950s. Entirely made of golden ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Gabriella Crespi Style Photo Frame in Lucite Tortoiseshell, Italy, 1970sBy Gabriella CrespiLocated in Roma, ITGorgeous photo frame in lucite with a stunning tortoiseshell effect. This elegant piece was produced in Italy in the 1970s and attributable to Gabriella Crespi. This stunning piec...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsLucite, Plexiglass
- Mid-Century Italian Photo Frame in Solid Brass, Hollywood Regency, 1950sLocated in Roma, ITMarvellous Italian picture frame in the shape of a book fully made in solid brass. This outsanding Hollywood Regency piece was made in Italy in the 1950s. This finely crafted photo ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Gabriella Crespi Style Photo Frame in Lucite Tortoiseshell Brass, Italy, 1970sBy Gabriella CrespiLocated in Roma, ITFantastic Mid-Century photo frame in tortoiseshell effect lucite and brass. This incredibly charming piece was made in Italy during the 1970s, clearly in the style of Gabriella Cresp...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsBrass
- Midcentury Double-Layered Italian Wall Mirror in the style of Fontana Arte 1950sBy Fontana ArteLocated in Roma, ITUnique and large midcentury double-layered wall mirror. It was produced in Italy during 1950s and it's clearly in the style of Fontana Arte. It is very rare as it has two layers o...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsBrass
- Fontana Arte Ground Glass Photo Frame, Italy 1950sBy Fontana ArteLocated in Naples, ITA beautiful cut glass photoframe design by Fontana Arte from the 1950s with an indented polished green edge. The front piece is neatly secured with two nickel plated round button scr...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsGlass
- Fontana Arte Frame Glass Wood, 1950, ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITFontana Arte frame glass wood, 1950, Italy.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Picture Frames
MaterialsGlass
- Fontana Arte photo frame, Italian 1940sLocated in London, GBPhotograph frame, stripes of distressed mirror mounted on sycamore. Italian 1940s Dimensions: H:29cm x W:31cmCategory
Vintage 1940s Italian Picture Frames
MaterialsMirror
- Italian Fontana Arte Brass and Glass Picture FrameBy Fontana ArteLocated in Los Angeles, CAFontana Arte Solid Brass Picture frame with a uniquely designed support, that also is used as the piece that hold the image agains the glass....Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsBrass
- Fontana Arte Glass and Brass Picture FrameBy Fontana ArteLocated in Stamford, CTMid-Century Modern Fontana Arte style table top picture frame with spiral brass over glass rods. With a rust colored velvet stand. Beautiful It...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsBrass
- 1950s Mid-Century Modern Mirrored Glass Picture Frame by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Aci Castello, ITA perfectly preserved mirrored glass rectangular picture frame designed and manufactured by Fontana Arte, one of the leading manufacturers of Mid-Century Modern design in Italy. The ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsCut Glass, Mirror