Victor Vasarely for Rosenthal
View Similar Items
Victor Vasarely for Rosenthal
About the Item
- Creator:Victor Vasarely (Artist),Rosenthal (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 2 in (5.08 cm)Width: 12 in (30.48 cm)Depth: 12 in (30.48 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970's
- Condition:Excellent original condition.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU8285885819
Rosenthal
While the Rosenthal Porcelain Factory grew from humble decorating roots — as many pottery companies do — it eventually built a list of universally revered designer and artist partners that included Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalí. And after securing an enviable position as a top manufacturer of serveware and dominating the porcelain and bone china markets, Rosenthal expanded into furniture production, working with influential designers Verner Panton, Luigi Colani and Günther Ferdinand Ris and Herbert Selldorf.
German-born Jewish businessman Philipp Rosenthal founded the company in 1879 in Bavaria. It began as his modest workshop where he painted porcelain and encountered success with porcelain ashtrays. Rosenthal hired the best designers and clay modelers he could find. Adolf Oppel designed figurative Art Nouveau pieces, while Eleonore (Lore) Friedrich-Gronau produced decorative objects, namely her graceful porcelain dancer figurines, for the company.
Dinnerware, though, would be a Rosenthal mainstay. Between 1904 and 1910, Rosenthal produced its renowned dinnerware lines such as Donatello, Darmstadt and Isolde. These were introduced as unornamented white pieces — only later were they given their underglaze designs.
Rosenthal founder Philipp, a Catholic of Jewish ancestry, resigned in 1934 as the company’s president due to pressures owing to discriminatory German laws that took shape during the rise of the Nazi regime. Rosenthal died in 1937, and the family fled to America. The company would not regain its footing until 1950 when Rosenthal’s son, Philip, joined the firm and, in 1958, became chairman and dubbed Germany’s “China King.” At its peak, the company had 10,000 employees.
In the 1950s, Rosenthal’s modernist dinnerware was a significant part of the brand’s offerings, and by 1961 they introduced the famed Rosenthal Studio Line. Although furniture designers and ceramicists would lead the list of individuals working with Rosenthal — among them Tapio Wirkkala, Max Weber and Lisa Larson — the company eventually reached out to fine artists, not only Dalí and Warhol but Sandro Chia and Kenny Scharf. Rosenthal also collaborated with fashion designers Gianni Versace and Donatella Versace.
In a daring move in 1972, the company diversified into furniture, collaborating with some of the giants of mid-century modern design. The revolutionary Sunball chair, an icon of Space Age seating crafted by Selldorf and Ris, was among Rosenthal’s stellar successes in this venture.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Rosenthal ceramics, porcelain, tableware, seating and more.
Victor Vasarely
Widely considered the grandfather of Op art, the French-Hungarian painter Victor Vasarely (1906–97) created eye-popping geometric abstractions that play with the viewer’s perception of depth, perspective and motion. A classic example is the 1937 Zebra, which consists of undulating black and white stripes that suggest the form of the titular animal through optical trickery. The work is often credited as the earliest Op art painting.
Such illusions were more than pleasing tricks for Vasarely, who insisted that “pure form and pure color can signify the world.” He wanted to “democratize” art by producing works in large editions at reasonable prices that were understandable across national and cultural boundaries. In the 1960s, he developed an alphabet plastique, or fine art alphabet, consisting of elementary visual building blocks that could be used in endless combinations to create original compositions. By employing this universal visual vocabulary and stripping away topical references, he sought to create what he called a “Planetary Folklore.”
Embodying Vasarely’s singular belief that art should serve a social function, accessible to all, these innovations may perhaps be his greatest contribution to 20th-century art.
Find a collection of Victor Vasarely prints, paintings, sculptures and other art on 1stDibs.
- Josef Twirbutt Wall SculptureBy Josef TwirbuttLocated in New York, NYHighly textured, abstract wall relief of sawn, stained, and collaged wood and found wood objects by Lithuanian-born American artist Josef Twirbutt. T...Category
Vintage 1960s American Brutalist Wall-mounted Sculptures
MaterialsWood
- Erwin Hauer Design No. 7 MaquetteBy Le CorbusierLocated in New York, NYTectonic sculptural maquette of vacuum- molded styrene, painted steel rods and metal created in 1959 by Austrian/American sculptor and designer Erwin Hauer (1926-1917). Hauer’s light...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsMetal, Wire
- Richard Filipowski Metal Sculpture, "Cube"By Richard FilipowskiLocated in New York, NYFreestanding cast and hand-collaged sculpture of sulphur bronze and silver by Boston-area artist Richard Filipowski. A densely textured, naturalistic form in the shape of a footed cu...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sculptures
MaterialsSilver, Bronze
- James Bearden Module TrioBy James BeardenLocated in New York, NYGroup of three small abstract sculptures, titled Module Trio, of blackened steel, fused and dyed bronze, and glass enamel. Made in 2019 by Am...Category
2010s American Brutalist Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsBronze, Enamel, Steel
$2,200 / set - James Bearden Cathedral Series LampBy James BeardenLocated in New York, NY'Illuminated Dwelling' lamp by American artist James Bearden, from his Cathedral series. Hand-forged of blackened and polished steel in 2015.. A one-of-a-kind design that is essentia...Category
2010s American Brutalist Table Lamps
MaterialsSteel
- James Bearden Sculpture, "Passage"By James BeardenLocated in New York, NYTall Brutalist sculpture of blackened and collaged steel, perched on attached columnar steel base, executed in 2016. Titled "Passage," it is p...Category
2010s American Brutalist Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsSteel
- Victor Vasarely Print on AluminumBy Victor VasarelyLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA fine screen print on aluminum.Category
Vintage 1970s French Decorative Art
MaterialsAluminum
- Victor Vasarely Attributed Group of 48 Rosenthal TilesBy Victor Vasarely, RosenthalLocated in Naples, ITGroup of 48 Rosenthal tiles, 25 in black biscuit porcelain and 23 in white biscuit porcelain, Studio Linie collection.Category
Vintage 1970s German Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
MaterialsPorcelain
- Victor Vasarely "Topaze Noire Positif"By Victor VasarelyLocated in West Palm Beach, FLWood wall sculpture by Victor Vasarely Artist Signed Denise Rene label on verso.Category
Vintage 1970s French Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsWood
- Horus by Paul Wunderlich for Rosenthal, 1985By Paul WunderlichLocated in Weesp, NLA Rosenthal Horus white porcelain plaque with a falcon's head in relief by Paul Wunderlich. #183 / 1000 in it's original wooden presentation box. Signed in gold by the artist. Dime...Category
Vintage 1980s German Post-Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
MaterialsPorcelain
- Tony Rosenthal "Thunderclap" Wall SculptureBy Tony RosenthalLocated in Chicago, ILTony Rosenthal "Thunderclap" Wall Sculpture Sculpture by Rosenthal, torch-cut and burnished aluminum. Etched signature lower right corner Rosenthal 61 And on back "THUNDERCLAP" 61 Ca...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsAluminum
- Victor Vasarely LithographBy Victor VasarelyLocated in Oak Harbor, OHArtist: Victor Vasarely Medium: Lithograph Movement/Style: Modern Signed and Numbered : 133/250 Condition: This Victor Vasaerly lithograph is in very good vintage condit...Category
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Contemporary Art
MaterialsPaper