Piero Fornasetti, Magazine Rack, circa 1950s
View Similar Items
Piero Fornasetti, Magazine Rack, circa 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 15.16 in (38.5 cm)Width: 16.93 in (43 cm)Depth: 8.86 in (22.5 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:One leg a bit loose, some discoloration, signs of wear and age. Cracks, smaller scratches on the cream base.
- Seller Location:Stockholm, SE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU100709539121
Fornasetti
The Italian artist, illustrator and furniture maker Piero Fornasetti was one of the wittiest and most imaginative design 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 the 19th-century opera singer Lina 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 desks to dinner plates, lamps and umbrella stands. His work is archly clever, often surreal 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 his 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 Fornasetti’s collaborator and patron. Beginning in the early 1950s, they created a striking a 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.
- Piero Fornasetti, Umbrella Stand, 1950/60sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Stockholm, SEUmbrella stand with malachite pattern designed by Piero Fornasetti. Italy 1950/60s. Signs of use, botten with smalls signs of rust.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
MaterialsMetal
- Piero Fornasetti, Roman Medallions, Coffee Table, 1960s, ItalyBy FornasettiLocated in Stockholm, SECoffee table by Italian designer Piero Fornasetti, Italy, 1960s. Top with details of Romanesque imagery/ Roman medallions. Lithographic print on lacque...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
- Rare Umbrella Stand “Bighe” designed by Piero Fornasetti, Italy circa 1960By Piero FornasettiLocated in Stockholm, SEPiero Fornasetti umbrella stand “Bighe”. Lithographically printed metal and brass. Italy, circa 1960. Marked: FORNASETTI MILANO, MADE IN ITALY. Gold label: MADE EXPRESSLY FOR OHLSSO...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
MaterialsBrass
- Paolo Venini, Pendant, Italy 1950sBy Paolo VeniniLocated in Stockholm, SEPendant in Murano glass, by Paolo Venini, Italy 1950s. Total height 100 cm.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsGlass
- Pair of Lounge Chairs, Italian, 1950sLocated in Stockholm, SEA pair of lounge chairs, Italian, 1950s. Wool fabric, in need of reupholstering.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWool, Wood
$4,586 / set - Pair of Lounge Chairs, Italian, 1950sLocated in Stockholm, SEA pair of lounge chairs, in vinyl, Italian, 1950s. In need of reupholstering.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsFaux Leather
$4,586 / set
- Piero Fornasetti Strumenti Musicali Magazine Rack, 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Miami, FLA rare and early magazine stand or portariviste designed and manufactured by the Italian master of playful and surreal self-expression Piero Fornasetti in the 1950s. The vintage rack...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
MaterialsMetal, Brass, Enamel
- Piero Fornasetti Magazine RackBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Henley-on Thames, OxfordshirePiero Fornasetti magazine rack with wooden frame and Hand colored silk-screened decoration. Fornasetti label to the base. Atelier Fornasetti, Italy, circa 1950.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
MaterialsBrass, Steel
- Piero Fornasetti Strumenti Musicali Magazine RackBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Los Angeles, CAMagazine rack by Italian designer and artist, Piero Fornasetti, circa 1950s, Italy. The rack features a musical themed lithograph printed on plywood with a wire brass divider on the ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
MaterialsBrass
- Piero Fornasetti, Mid Century Modern, Magazine Rack, Lacquer, Metal, Italy 1960sBy FornasettiLocated in Stamford, CTPiero Fornasetti, Mid Century Modern, Magazine Rack, Lacquer, Metal, Italy 1960s A rare Piero Fornasetti labeled and numbered no. 1 of 98 having a lacquered metal and brass form. Th...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Magazine Rack Iron, circa 1950sLocated in Wien, ATMagazine rack iron, circa 1950s Wicker on the handle Iron blackened Original condition.Category
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
MaterialsIron
- Viennese Magazine Rack, circa 1950sLocated in Wien, ATViennese magazine rack, circa 1950s Original condition Beautiful original patina.Category
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
MaterialsBrass