Irene de Guttry and Maria Paola Maino, Il Mobile Italiano Degli Anni '40 e '50, Bari, 1992, p. 75, fig. 8 Giampiero Bosoni and Federico Bucci, Il design e gli interni di Franco Albini, Milan, 2016, p. 100
Catalogue Essay
The following lots comprise three armchairs conceived by three distinctive architects and designers active in Italy between the 1920s and 1970s. Albeit all originating from the same stylistic heritage of Italian design of the 1940s, each of the armchairs illustrate varied aesthetic influences and represent three personal approaches to the same subject.
The armchair designed by Osvaldo Borsani features predominant decorative lines, revealing a clear intention to indulge in a refined and luxurious product. In contrast, Franco Albini, an important exponent of Italian Neo-Rationalism, rigorously applied the philosophy to his design for the ‘Fiorenza’ armchair. Of the three designs, Gio Ponti’s rare armchair constitutes a mature convergence of a decorative and rationalist approach, poetically combining two seemingly opposing styles.