Picture Frame Fontana Arte Glass Decorative Object Midcentury Italy 1950s
View Similar Items
Picture Frame Fontana Arte Glass Decorative Object Midcentury Italy 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Fontana Arte (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 9.45 in (24 cm)Width: 12.8 in (32.5 cm)Depth: 1.97 in (5 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950-1959
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Intact glass without chipping. Excellent general conditions. Weight: 9.40 kg.
- Seller Location:Palermo, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5209230218682
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.
- Picture Frame Decorative Object Luigi Fontana for Fontana Arte Midcentury 1940sBy Fontana Arte, Luigi FontanaLocated in Palermo, ITDouble Photo frame by Luigi Fontana for Fontana Arte produced in Italy in the 1940s. The multiform photo frame has a wooden structure and decorated and ground glass with metal access...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsMetal
$856 Sale Price29% Off - Decorative Object Picture Frame Silver 800 Wood Midcentury Italian Design 1950sLocated in Palermo, ITRectangular photo frame made with a wooden support and 800 silver frame with decorations. Made in Italy in the 1950s, Note: We try to offer our cust...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsSilver Leaf
- Decorative Object Picture Frame Plexglass Midcentury Italian Design 1980sLocated in Palermo, ITParticular rectangle-shaped photo frame made of transparent corrugated plexiglass. Of great thickness Made in Italy in the 80s. Particular because it can be placed on a surface or on...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsPlexiglass
- Decorative Object Picture Frame Wood Brass Midcentury Italian Design 1970sLocated in Palermo, ITPhoto frame made with golden brass support and frame. Made in Italy in the 70s. Note: We try to offer our customers an excellent service even in shipments all over the world, colla...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsBrass
- Picture Frame Decorative Object Silver 800 Plexiglass Midcentury Italy 1970sLocated in Palermo, ITParticular semicircle-shaped photo frame made of transparent and black plexiglass and 800 silver. Made in Italy in the 1970s. Signature at the top right, as you can see in the photo...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsSilver
$527 Sale Price26% Off - Picture Frame Decorative Object Brass Nichel Made in Italy Midcentury 1970sLocated in Palermo, ITLarge picture frame, nickel-plated brass structure. Glass decorated with diamond motifs, of great quality. It retains all its original parts. Weight: 2040 grams Photo measurements o...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsBrass, Nickel
- Fontana Arte Glass Notepad, Italy 1950sBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milan, ITA beautiful Fontana Arte two-colored glass notepad. Original label.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories
MaterialsBrass
- Italian Midcentury Glass Platter Attributed to Fontana Arte, 1950sBy Fontana ArteLocated in Paris, FRA wonderful rectangular glass platter with brass and glass details and etched patterns attributed to iconic Italian manufacturer Fontana Arte Italy, circa 1950s. We are an ex...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Platters and Serveware
MaterialsBrass
- Freeform Fontana Arte 1950s Glass AshtrayBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milan, ITFreeform Fontana Arte 1950s glass ashtray.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsGlass
- Fontana Arte Handles Glass Brass, 1950, ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITFontana Arte handles glass brass, 1950, Italy.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Children's Furniture
MaterialsGlass
- Fontana Arte Frame Glass Metal Crome 1960 ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITFontana Arte frame glass metal crome 1960 Italy.Category
Late 20th Century Italian Other Glass
MaterialsGlass
- Fontana Arte Empty Pockets Mirrored Glass 1950 ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITFontana Arte Empty Pockets mirrored glass 1950 Italy.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Glass
MaterialsGlass