Italian Art Deco Daybed in Walnut

Osvaldo Borsani for Arredamenti Borsani Varedo, daybed, model 5767, walnut, fabric, Italy, 1941 This exceedingly rare sofa or daybed, designed by Osvaldo Borsani for Arredamenti Borsani Varedo in 1941, was originally intended for Casa Albonetto in Italy. The designer himself owned a smaller version of this type. This modest daybed serves as a prime example of Borsani's impeccable innovative thinking and his keen sense of harmonious compositions. When it comes to practicality, its defining feature are the adjustable armrests, simultaneously placing the backrest cushions over the lowered armrests. In an easy gesture the sofa is transformed into a daybed. A generous storage compartment is present by raising the seating space upwards. The overall wooden frame in walnut is characterized by rounded contours and clear lines with evenly spaced spindles structuring the piece. Osvaldo Borsani (1911-1985) was an Italian designer and architect, raised by a family of fine furniture makers in Varedo. At the age of 16, he joined his father’s furniture shop, the Atelier di Varedo, which was fully engaged in designing and furnishing homes inspired by the Italian Art Deco movement. The designer of the atelier was the Italian architect Gino Maggioni (1898-1955) who was known for his Viennese Jugendstil orientation of the early 20th century. In the 1930s, he graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera and Politecnico di Milano, where he studied Fine Arts and Architecture respectively. In 1932, the family company was renamed ‘Arredamenti Borsani’ and opened its first studio in Milan. During this period, he encountered Avant-Garde artists of various artistic disciplines like Lucio Fontana (1899-1968), Agenore Fabbri (1911-1998), Aligi Sassu (1912-2000), Roberto Crippa (1921-1972), Fausto Melotti (1901-1986), Arnaldo Pomodoro (1926-) and Giò Pomodoro (1930-2002). These collaborations resulted in the creation of furniture and interior design projects with a high-level of craftsmanship and artistry. In 1953, Borsani founded together with his twin brother Fulgenzio Borsani ‘Tecno’, a design and manufacturing company that produced items based on mechanical innovations and refined technicality. The ‘P40’ adjustable lounge chair (1953) has become the ideological manifesto of Borsani's Tecno program, and still remains the best known, exemplary piece in the Tecno catalogue. Other iconic works that were produced by Tecno were created by Gio Ponti (1891-1979), Vico cham...

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