1950s Fontana Arte Plafoniere
View Similar Items
1950s Fontana Arte Plafoniere
About the Item
- Creator:Fontana Arte (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 8.27 in (21 cm)Diameter: 16.54 in (42 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU100282584422
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.
- Italian Chandelier Pietro Chiesa 1950s Opaque Glass Shade Fontana ArteBy Pietro ChiesaLocated in Lyon, FRHanging lamp from the 1950s by Italian designer Pietro Chiesa. Structure of the arm and the cup in solid brass and white lacquered metal. Diffuser with a double saucer shaped opaque ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- 1950s Italian Brass and Glass Bevelled Leaves Chandelier Fontana Arte StyleBy Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in London, GBAn absolutely stunning 1950s Italian brass and glass chandelier in the style of Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte. The chandelier is composed of 15 clear glass bevelled petals - 5 around ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Fontana Arte Mid-Century Modern Italian Chandelier by Max Ingrand, 1950sBy Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in Puglia, PugliaChandelier attributed to Max Igrand for Fontana Arte, Italy, circa 1950s. Cast brass and curved crystal. Two large curved etched glass lampshades mounted on a brass frame, at first g...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsCrystal, Brass
$10,457 Sale Price20% Off - After Pietro Chiesa Mid-Century Italian Crystal Chandelier by Fontana Arte 1950sBy Fontana Arte, Pietro ChiesaLocated in Puglia, PugliaThis Mid-Century chandelier in curved crystal and brass was designed by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte in the 1940s. Produced by Fontana Arte after Pietro Chiesa Italian Art Deco designer Pietro Chiesa was born in Milan in 1892 into a family of artists from Ticino, Switzerland. After his studies at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, he completed an apprenticeship at the studio of furniture designer Giovan Battista Giannotti; after gathering enough confidence and experience, Chiesa opened his studio in 1921 under the name of Bottega di Pietro Chiesa. Known above all for his work as a glassmaker, Chiesa presented his work for the first time in 1925 at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris. In 1932 his studio became part of Fontana Arte, the legendary Italian manufacturer of lighting and glass objects founded by Gio Ponti and Luigi Fontana. Chiesa becomes the artistic director of the company and over the years has designed numerous models for Fontana Arte, including lamps, windows, tables and artistic furnishing objects. Among the most noteworthy pieces signed by the designer, we mention the Fontana table (1932), made of a single transparent molded glass beam, the Cartoccio vase (1932), and the Luminator lacquered brass floor lamp...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsCrystal
$2,788 Sale Price20% Off - Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte Long Sculptural Brass and Glass Sconces Italy 1950sBy Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in New York, NYMax Ingrand (1908-1969) A beautiful pair of long, curved frosted glass sconces on sculptural projecting mounts with elegant keyhole detail, in polished brass, by Max Ingrand for Fo...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Italian Mid-Century Brass and Glass Applique Zero Quattro of Fontana Arte, 1950sBy Zero Quattro, Fontana ArteLocated in MIlano, ITItalian Mid-Century Modern brass and glass leaves applique by Zero Quattro section of Fontana Arte, 1950s Wall lamp with brass structure equipped with supports necessary for the sus...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass