The Italian artist and designer Piero Fornasetti was one of the wittiest and most imaginative 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 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 decorative objects to dinner plates, table lamps and umbrella stands. His work is archly clever, often Surrealist 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 Fornasetti's 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 the artist's collaborator and patron. Beginning in the early 1950s, they created a striking 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.
Find vintage Piero Fornasetti dinner plates, chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
FORNASETTI Vintage Table Lamp
By Piero Fornasetti, Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian table lamp with painted metal decorated with cameos on red background (lithographical and transfer-printed) and brass / made in Milan Italy in the 1980s Original labe...
Metal
FORNASETTI Rare Ceramic Snail Table Lamp
By Piero Fornasetti, Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage original white ceramic giant snail lamp / made in Milan Italy by Fornasetti, 1970s Original label underside Measures: length 13.8 inches, width 9.8 inches, height 19.3 inches...
Ceramic
$5,500 / set
FORNASETTI Pair of Vintage Table Lamps
By Piero Fornasetti, Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian "Jerusalem" table lamp with painted metal (lithographical and transfer-printed) and brass / made in Milan Italy in the 1980s Original label on the base 1 light / E26 ...
Metal
$5,500 / set
FORNASETTI Pair of Vintage Table Lamps
By Fornasetti, Piero Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian table lamp with painted metal decorated with violet flowers (lithographical and transfer-printed) and brass / made in Milan Italy in the 1980s Original label on the b...
Metal
FORNASETTI Vintage Table Lamp
By Fornasetti, Piero Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian Oggi Maria Pia newspaper table lamp with painted metal (lithographical and transfer-printed) and brass / made in Milan Italy in the 198...
Metal
$5,500 / set
FORNASETTI Pair of Vintage Table Lamps
By Fornasetti, Piero Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian "Jerusalem by night" table lamp with painted metal (lithographical and transfer-printed) and brass / made in Milan Italy in the 1980s Original label on the base 1 lig...
Metal
FORNASETTI Rare Larger Vintage Table Lamp
By Fornasetti, Piero Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian table lamp with painted metal in malachite design (lithographical and transfer-printed) and brass / made in Milan Italy in the 1980s Original label on the base 1 ligh...
Metal
$5,500 / set
FORNASETTI Pair of Vintage Table Lamps
By Piero Fornasetti, Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian table lamp with painted metal (lithographical and transfer-printed) and brass, in motif of gold keys on malachite / made in Milan Italy in the 1980s Original label on...
Metal
FORNASETTI Vintage Table Lamp
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian table lamp with painted metal decorated with harlequins (lithographical and transfer-printed) and brass / made in Milan Italy in the 1980s Original label on the base ...
Metal
$5,500 / set
FORNASETTI Pair of Vintage Table Lamps
By Piero Fornasetti, Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian table lamp with painted metal decorated with book motif and butterfly (lithographical and transfer-printed) and brass / made in Milan Italy in the 1980s Original labe...
Metal
FORNASETTI Vintage Table Lamp
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian table lamp with painted metal decorated with book motif and butterfly (lithographical and transfer-printed) and brass / made in Milan Italy in the 1980s Original labe...
Metal
FORNASETTI Vintage Table Lamp
By Fornasetti, Piero Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian table lamp with painted metal decorated in various musical instruments (lithographical and transfer-printed) and brass / made in Milan Italy in the 1980s Original lab...
Metal
FORNASETTI Vintage Table Lamp
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian table lamp with painted metal decorated with various writing instruments, pen, pencil and quill / made in Milan Italy in the 1980s Original label on the base 1 light ...
Metal
FORNASETTI Vintage Table Lamp
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian table lamp with painted metal decorated with birds (lithographical and transfer-printed) and brass / made in Milan Italy in the 1980s Original label on the base 1 lig...
Metal
$5,500 / set
FORNASETTI Pair of Vintage Table Lamps
By Piero Fornasetti, Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian table lamp with painted metal decorated with harlequins on red background (lithographical and transfer-printed) and brass / made in Milan Italy by Fornasetti, in the ...
Metal
Piero Fornasetti Farfalle Butterfly Table Lamp
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Miami, FL
A vintage Mid-Century Modern off-white lamp by the Italian master of playful and surreal self-expression, Piero Fornasetti. The brass lamp features screen-printed green, blue, pink a...
Metal, Brass, Enamel
1960s French Ceramic Table Lamp
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage ceramic lamp from Vallauris, France, 1960's. Glazed ceramic base and handle in light grey coloring. Lovely circular appliqué details on handle and neck. Newly rewired with ne...
Ceramic, Linen
$248Sale Price|19% Off
H 11.82 in Dm 4.73 in
1950s Vintage Adjustable Desk Table Lamp with Brass Structure
Located in Milano, Lombardia
1950s vintage lamp, Italian manufacture. The lamp has a brass structure.
Brass, Iron
$954 / set
H 33 in W 17 in D 12 in
Vintage 20thC Pair Of Italian Fornasetti "Luna Città" Table Lamps By Antonangeli
By Fornasetti, Antonangeli, Piero Fornasetti
Located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
A striking pair of Fornasetti Luna Città table lamps, produced in Italy during the late twentieth century by Antonangeli under licence from Fornasetti. Combining sculptural form with...
Acrylic
Vintage Crelsca Blue Vase Pottery Stoneware Ceramic Table Lamp
By Aldo Londi, Bitossi
Located in San Jose, CA
Mid century modern ceramic stoneware pottery table lamp circa 1960's. Features a white ceramic vase-like base with a bright glaze finish in light blue and black. Equipped with a bras...
Ceramic
$590
H 13.38 in W 5.11 in D 6.29 in
1990s Gorgeous "Commedia dell'Arte" table Lamp by Piero Fornasetti for Antonange
By Piero Fornasetti, Fornasetti
Located in Milano, IT
This exceptional "La Commedia dell'Arte" table lamp represents a prestigious collaboration between the Piero Fornasetti and the avant-garde Milanese lighting house Antonangeli Illumi...
Plastic
Piero Fornasetti Table Lamp Italy 1950s
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Munich, DE
A beautiful and rare table lamp designed by the artist Piero Fornasetti from the 1950s. The wonderful lacquer prints of lamp has different designs on each of the four sides, first de...
Brass
Piero Fornasetti 'Kisses' Table Lamp, Mid-Century Design, 1990s
By Piero Fornasetti, Fornasetti
Located in Milano, IT
A striking example of Italian Mid-Century inspired surrealism, this rare "Kisses" table lamp was designed by the iconic Piero Fornasetti and produced by Antonangeli Illuminazione in ...
Plastic
Rare Italian Harvey Guzzini Table Desk Lamp, 1970s
By Harvey Guzzini
Located in Paris, IDF
Rare black and white Italian desk lamp by Harvey Guzzini with painted metal, fully adjustable, and in a typically Mid-Century Modern look. This mode...
Metal
1970s Pair of Vintage Brass Table Lamps
Located in London, GB
A stylish and very well made pair of vintage brass table lamps. They were made in England, they date from around the 1970’s. They are of amazing quality and are a great size. The so...
Brass
Pair of Midcentury Brutalist Table Lamps for Laurel Lamp Co.
By Laurel Lamp Company
Located in New York, NY
This sculptural and dynamic pair of Mid-Century Modern lamps were designed by Harold Weiss and Richard Barr for the illustrious Laurel La...
Enamel, Chrome
1950s Large French Ceramic Table Lamp
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage ceramic lamp from France, 1950s. Glazed ceramic base in blue, grey, and green tones with light brown speckled coloring. Newly rewired with new tapered linen shade. Takes one ...
Ceramic, Linen
FORNASETTI Pair of Vintage Table Lamps
By Fornasetti, Piero Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian table lamp with painted metal of the face of Lina Cavalieri (lithographical and transfer-printed) and brass / made in Milan Italy in the 1980s Original label on the b...
Metal
20th Century Italian Table Lamps By Fornasetti
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
A beautiful pair of table lamps by Piero Fornasetti. This particular model retailed by Antonangeli in the 1990s, now discontinued and appreciating in value. More importantly it gives...
Metal
Modernist Etched and Gilded Virgo Flush Mount by Piero Fornasetti
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in New York, NY
This stunning flush mount chandelier was realized by the atelier of Piero Fornasetti, one of Italy's great 20th century designers. It features an austere convex glass flush mount ins...
Gold
Piero Fornasetti Malachite Design Lamp Base, 1950s
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in McKinney, TX
- Vintage lamp base by collectible and coveted Italian designer Piero Fornasetti - Classic and desirable Fornasetti Malachite design - Vibrant g...
Brass
Piero Fornasetti 'Farfalle' Butterflies on White Background Lamp Base, 1950s
By Piero Fornasetti
Located in McKinney, TX
- Vintage lamp base by collectible and coveted Italian designer Piero Fornasetti - Whimsical "Farfalle" design which translates to "Butterflies" - ...
Brass