Low, Cubic Table by Fornasetti, 1955
View Similar Items
Low, Cubic Table by Fornasetti, 1955
About the Item
- Creator:Piero Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 20.28 in (51.5 cm)Width: 19.69 in (50 cm)Depth: 19.69 in (50 cm)
- Style:Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Metal,Enameled
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1955
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Berlin, DE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU983122875232
Piero Fornasetti
The Italian artist and illustrator 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.
- Low Table by ISA Bergamo ca. 1955By ISA BergamoLocated in Berlin, DESide Table / Coffee Table by ISA Bergamo with square top. Veneered and framed in light wood structure, black-lacquered metal legs. Italian furniture manufacturer I.S.A. (Industria S...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWood
- Tray by Piero Fornasetti, 1955By Piero FornasettiLocated in Berlin, DETray made of aluminum with offset-printing of birds Dimensions: H.58cm W.46cm D.1cm Design and manufacture / Piero Fornasetti Labeled 'Fornasetti'.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Modern Platters and Serveware
MaterialsAluminum
- Low Glass Table by Pietro Chiesa, Fontana Arte, 1948By Pietro ChiesaLocated in Berlin, DEChic round low table with black lacquered, wooden legs. Manufactured by Fontana Arte, designed by Pietro Chiesa.Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Table by Bruno Contenotte, 1972By Bruno ContenotteLocated in Berlin, DEUnique and playful table by artist Bruno Contenotte. Matt, transparent plastic table top filled with colored liquid in purple and green, blue circular edge and aluminum structure, chrome legs. Bruno Contenotte, stage name of Bruno Facchini...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Side Tables
MaterialsChrome, Aluminum
- Side Table by Fontana Arte, 1940By Fontana ArteLocated in Berlin, DESide table with wooden corpus, linear structure lacquered black and green, glass plates Dimensions: H 41cm 50 x 50cm Design / Fontana Arte Milano, 1940.Category
Vintage 1940s German Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWood
- Side Tables by Ico Parisi, ca. 1970By Ico ParisiLocated in Berlin, DEFour tables designed by Ico Parisi around year 1970. Each table is made of wood and lacquered in different colors: white, red, marine and black. Parisi unites playful and rational de...Category
Vintage 1970s European Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWood
- Pair Italian Midcentury Lacquer & Screenprint Side Tables by Piero FornasettiBy Piero FornasettiLocated in New York, NYA Rare and Important Pair of Italian midcentury Side or End Tables by Piero Fornasetti. The pieces are beautiful compositions of form and design in the Modern Neoclassical aesthetic....Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass, Iron
- 'Cammei' Silver Cameos Motif Side Table by Piero Fornasetti, SignedBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis gorgeous collectors item is a 'Cammei' (Cameos in Italian) side table by Piero Fornasetti, signed underneath with its original label. This side table is made with lacquered wood...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
$4,200 Sale Price26% Off - 'Strumenti Musicali' Drinks / Side Tables by Piero Fornasetti, c 1970s, SignedBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Los Angeles, CAThese gorgeous collectors items are the 'Strumenti Musicali' (Musical Instruments in Italian) side tables by Piero Fornasetti, signed underneath with original labels. Priced individu...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Piero Fornasetti Sole Brass Tripod Side TableBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Munich, DEPiero Fornasetti Sole Brass tripod side table This gorgeous collectors item is a ’Sole' side table by Piero Fornasetti, signed underneath with its ori...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Piero Fornasetti tripod table with flower motifBy Piero FornasettiLocated in London, GBA truly beautiful tripod t’aide table by Piero Fornasetti . Exceptional condition signed and labelled. C1965 ItalyCategory
Mid-20th Century Italian Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
- 1970s Table by Piero Fornasetti Depicting "Sun King" 'Louis XIV', Made in ItalyBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, IT1970s Gorgeous round table by Piero Fornasetti depicting in gold color "Sun King" (Louis XIV) on the black lacquered wood top, with black metal base and hexagonal brass connectors, t...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Tables
MaterialsMetal
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Barnaba Fornasetti’s Hallucinatory House Has His Father’s Spirit
Behind a nondescript facade in northeastern Milan is the magical residence of Barnaba Fornasetti. It's a shrine to the style developed by his design-legend father, which still defies categorization.
Jochum Rodgers Has Long Brought the Best of 20th-Century Design to Berlin and Beyond
Opened by Hans-Peter Jochum some 40 years ago, the pioneering gallery specializes in mid-century gems but also spotlights contemporary pieces by European artists and makers.