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Lot Essay
It is perfectly possible to create a world that has never been, that will never be, using the fragments of a world that has been. A world that one fine day blew up in the sky” Ettore Sottsass on Piero Fornasetti, 1991
The ancient cobble stone streets of Rome lined with stone palazzos have offered endless sources of inspiration for artists and designers since Rome’s founding. Piero Fornasetti found inspiration from a myriad of sources, including the illustrious Roman streets rooted in ancient Rome then revitalized during the Italian Renaissance. This inspiration led to Fornasetti’s ‘Architettura’ series which reflects his nostalgia for classical architecture and grand Italian palazzos. According to Barnaba Fornasetti, Piero’s son and successor, the ‘Architettura’ trumeau is representative of the Renaissance and all its opposing ideas: ancient versus modern, rationalism versus imagination, structural form versus decorative flourishes. This present lot grapples with these ideas, resulting in a large and dominating yet beautiful design. First exhibited at the 1951 Triennale, the iconic ‘Architettura’ series includes a variety of highly functional forms ranging from desks and tables to smaller filing cabinets and wastebaskets. However, no form in the series uses the architectural ornamentation to its advantage as perfectly as the trumeau does. Proving its enduring design, approximately ten examples of this form were produced in an unnumbered edition in the 1980s, including the present lot.
In the 1930s, a young Fornasetti embarked on his career studying printing and engraving techniques. With a creative mind already creating a new world, Fornasetti experimented with different printing methods, providing him with a vast knowledge of different printing techniques. He submitted his work to various venues, showcasing his skills through transfer printing on scarves and other smaller objects, and provided his talents for other contemporary designers. His reputation in this medium led to his introduction to Gio Ponti. As Fornasetti continued expanding his career in printing, he and Ponti’s close working relationship flourished. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, the two would collaborate on various designs, combining forms favored by Ponti with Fornasetti’s special lithographic printing.
Fornasetti and Ponti were both inspired and fascinated with architecture. Ponti, a trained architect, carried this fascination through the furniture he designed as seen in the almost sculptural-like quality found in much of his work. Fornasetti, on the other hand, combined his fondness for architecture with his love of lacquering and his expertise in transfer printing. Employing mixed medias enabled Fornasetti and Ponti to create unique illusions within their work. Further, the three-dimensionality of furniture provides a greater opportunity illusion than transfer printing onto a two-dimensional surface, like a scarf. Opening the upper cabinet doors on the present lot invites one to enter an Italian palazzo where they are immediately welcomed by a grand staircase and a highly decorated vaulted ceiling. Fornasetti is inviting his patrons to enter the fantasy world in which he created, through his work. The ‘Architettura’ series in particular invites patrons into the world of whimsy and imagination created by Fornasetti using fragments of the material world surrounding the designer himself. Fornasetti cleverly imbues this desk, a place where ideas are formed and recorded, with a reference to a moment in history known for its great erudition. The trumeau inspires its user to reminisce on the noble studies and scientific minds of the Renaissances and to harness these ideas into their own work while sitting at this trumeau.
The ancient cobble stone streets of Rome lined with stone palazzos have offered endless sources of inspiration for artists and designers since Rome’s founding. Piero Fornasetti found inspiration from a myriad of sources, including the illustrious Roman streets rooted in ancient Rome then revitalized during the Italian Renaissance. This inspiration led to Fornasetti’s ‘Architettura’ series which reflects his nostalgia for classical architecture and grand Italian palazzos. According to Barnaba Fornasetti, Piero’s son and successor, the ‘Architettura’ trumeau is representative of the Renaissance and all its opposing ideas: ancient versus modern, rationalism versus imagination, structural form versus decorative flourishes. This present lot grapples with these ideas, resulting in a large and dominating yet beautiful design. First exhibited at the 1951 Triennale, the iconic ‘Architettura’ series includes a variety of highly functional forms ranging from desks and tables to smaller filing cabinets and wastebaskets. However, no form in the series uses the architectural ornamentation to its advantage as perfectly as the trumeau does. Proving its enduring design, approximately ten examples of this form were produced in an unnumbered edition in the 1980s, including the present lot.
In the 1930s, a young Fornasetti embarked on his career studying printing and engraving techniques. With a creative mind already creating a new world, Fornasetti experimented with different printing methods, providing him with a vast knowledge of different printing techniques. He submitted his work to various venues, showcasing his skills through transfer printing on scarves and other smaller objects, and provided his talents for other contemporary designers. His reputation in this medium led to his introduction to Gio Ponti. As Fornasetti continued expanding his career in printing, he and Ponti’s close working relationship flourished. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, the two would collaborate on various designs, combining forms favored by Ponti with Fornasetti’s special lithographic printing.
Fornasetti and Ponti were both inspired and fascinated with architecture. Ponti, a trained architect, carried this fascination through the furniture he designed as seen in the almost sculptural-like quality found in much of his work. Fornasetti, on the other hand, combined his fondness for architecture with his love of lacquering and his expertise in transfer printing. Employing mixed medias enabled Fornasetti and Ponti to create unique illusions within their work. Further, the three-dimensionality of furniture provides a greater opportunity illusion than transfer printing onto a two-dimensional surface, like a scarf. Opening the upper cabinet doors on the present lot invites one to enter an Italian palazzo where they are immediately welcomed by a grand staircase and a highly decorated vaulted ceiling. Fornasetti is inviting his patrons to enter the fantasy world in which he created, through his work. The ‘Architettura’ series in particular invites patrons into the world of whimsy and imagination created by Fornasetti using fragments of the material world surrounding the designer himself. Fornasetti cleverly imbues this desk, a place where ideas are formed and recorded, with a reference to a moment in history known for its great erudition. The trumeau inspires its user to reminisce on the noble studies and scientific minds of the Renaissances and to harness these ideas into their own work while sitting at this trumeau.