Original Midcentury Rattan Ottoman, Franco Albini, 1950s
View Similar Items
Original Midcentury Rattan Ottoman, Franco Albini, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Franco Albini (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)Diameter: 24 in (60.96 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:Rattan,Other
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:St Annes, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: 43871stDibs: LU1836313683871
Franco Albini
While working under the polymath Gio Ponti — arguably the most important figure in 20th-century Italian modernism — furniture designer Franco Albini nurtured a love for modern forms combined with traditional craft techniques.
Albini is widely known for working with organic materials such as rattan and cane for his chairs and other seating, but he also played a pivotal role in the Italian rationalist movement of the early 20th century, which saw architects and furniture makers applying a strict emphasis on geometry in their work. Rationalists drew on Ancient Roman architecture but rejected ornament, much in the way that Le Corbusier and celebrated Bauhaus figures such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe had in their modernist furniture.
Albini received his degree in architecture from the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1929, and, in 1931, he founded his practice in Milan, where he tackled workers’ housing and other reconstruction projects. A gifted urban planner, he also developed the Palazzo Bianco, Palazzo Rosso and Tesoro di San Lorenzo museums in Genoa. While Albini is revered for his Margherita chair — a Triennale Milano award winner created for Bonacina in 1951 — he also collaborated with manufacturers Poggi and Cassina in the 1940s on seating, tables and more that embodied his artistic vision. Of that mid-century work, the one piece that perhaps best captures this vision is the iconic Luisa chair.
With its cherry red upholstery and sinuous wooden legs that seem to float aboveground, the Luisa is a genuine masterpiece. It is also a testament to Albini’s perfectionism, as it endured several prototypes — including one made by Knoll in the late 1940s — and took approximately 15 years to design. Poggi launched the final version of the armchair in 1955, earning Albini the prestigious Compasso d’Oro from Italy’s Association for Industrial Design. It is produced today by Cassina. Albini named the chair for someone who likely saw the process firsthand: his personal secretary of two decades, Luisa Colombini.
Find vintage Franco Albini furniture on 1stDibs.
- Vintage Sculptural Crystal Vase, French, 1950sBy Art VannesLocated in St Annes, LancashireWonderful asymmetrical shaped crystal vase A great piece of sculpture as well as functional. Good size, perfect condition. Makers mark on the base. Not clear but it is prob...Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsArt Glass
- Harvesting The Wheat, Oil on Canvas, Italian, 1950sLocated in St Annes, LancashireWonderful painting of farmers bringing in the harvest of wheat Oil on canvas. Unsigned. Artist unknown Framed in a slightly distressed antiqu...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Paintings
MaterialsOther
- Original Vintage Print After Picasso. C.1950By (after) Pablo PicassoLocated in St Annes, LancashireDelightful print after Picasso Published by Beaverbrook, 1950's Unframed Free shippingCategory
Vintage 1950s British Art Deco Prints
MaterialsPaper
- Original Vintage Print After Picasso. C.1950By (after) Pablo PicassoLocated in St Annes, LancashireDelightful print after Picasso Published by Beaverbrook, 1950's Unframed Free shippingCategory
Vintage 1950s British Art Deco Prints
MaterialsPaper
- Attributed to Sadanand K. Bakre, Indian Artist, Venetian Cityscape, 1950sBy Sadanand K. Bakre 1Located in St Annes, LancashireAbstract oil painting on canvas of a Venetian cityscape. Unframed. No signature. It is attributed to Sadanand k. Bakre. In muted colors consistent with his early work in Eur...Category
Vintage 1950s British Brutalist Paintings
MaterialsCanvas
- Original Vintage Print After Leonardo Borgese, Itlay, Verzocchi, 1950Located in St Annes, LancashireGreat image by Leonardo Borgese. From the Pittori Italiani D'Oggi Collezione Verzocchi. A portfolio of prints Published 1950. The cover is show...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Industrial Prints
MaterialsPaper
- Franco Albini Italian Rattan Pouf / OttomanBy Franco AlbiniLocated in New York, NYItalian mid-century rattan pouf / ottoman with an open design and rounded shape. (FRANCO ALBINI)Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
MaterialsWood, Rattan
- Franco Albini Design Large Rattan OttomanBy Franco AlbiniLocated in Tourcoing, FRItalian design by Franco Albini rattan ottoman.Category
21st Century and Contemporary European Mid-Century Modern Footstools
MaterialsRattan
$1,055 / item - Iconic Franco Albini Woven Rattan Ottoman, 1960sBy Franco Albini, Vittorio BonacinaLocated in Miami, FLA vintage rattan round pouf designed by Franco Albini in the 1950s and manufactured by Vittorio Bonacina in the 1960s. An ingeniously designed stool that's composed solely of bent-ra...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
MaterialsRattan
- Franco Albini Midcentury Rattan and Bamboo Round Ottoman Stool, Italy 1960sBy Franco AlbiniLocated in Roma, ITGorgeous mid-century round bamboo & wicker stool. Franco Albini designed this piece in Italy during the 1960s. The pouf features a beautiful combination of curved bamboo, rattan a...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsBamboo, Rattan, Wicker
- Vintage Franco Albini Style Woven Rattan Ottoman PoufBy Franco AlbiniLocated in Brooklyn, NYVintage woven rattan ottoman in the manner of Franco Albini, designed in 1951. Age-appropriate wear to the woven rattan, but ours is a very nice, ...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
MaterialsRattan
- Franco Albini Rattan and Bamboo Ottoman, Italy 1960sBy Franco AlbiniLocated in Milan, ITFranco Albini Rattan and Bamboo ottoman, Italy 1960s.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
MaterialsBamboo, Wicker, Rattan