Best known for its elegant and innovative vintage lighting fixtures, the Milan-based firm Fontana Arte pioneered one of the key features of 20th-century and contemporary Italian design: the union of artistry and industry wrought by partnerships between creative talents — chiefly architects — and entrepreneurial businesses. Fontana Arte is further distinguished by having had as artistic director, in succession, four of Italy’s most inventive modernist designers: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, French transplant Max Ingrand and Gae Aulenti.
The bread and butter of the glassmaking company that Luigi Fontana founded in 1881 was plate-glass panels for the construction industry. In 1930, Fontana met Ponti — then the artistic director of the Richard Ginori ceramics workshop and the editor of the influential magazine Domus — at a biannual design exhibition that became the precursor to today’s Milan Design Triennale, and the two hatched an idea for a furniture and housewares firm. Fontana Arte was incorporated in 1932 with Ponti as its chief of design. He contributed several lamps that remain among the company’s signature works, including the orb-atop-cone Bilia table lamp and the 0024 pendant — a stratified hanging sphere.
The following year, Fontana Arte partnered with the influential Milan studio glassmaker and retailer Pietro Chiesa, who took over as artistic director. Chiesa’s designs for lighting — as well as for tables and items including vases and ashtrays — express an appreciation for fluidity and simplicity of line, as seen in works such as his flute-shaped Luminator floor lamp and the 1932 Fontana table — an arched sheet of glass that is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Six years after Chiesa’s 1948 death, the École des Beaux Arts–trained Max Ingrand took over as head of design at Fontana Arte. Ingrand brought a similarly expressive formal sensibility to wares such as lamps and mirrors, but he also had a masterful eye for the manipulation of glass surfaces — whether they be cut, frosted, acid-etched or sand-blasted. His classic design is the Fontana table lamp of 1954, which has a truncated cone shade and curved body, both of which are made of pure, chic white-frosted glass.
Following Ingrand, the often-audacious Italian architect Gae Aulenti served as the company’s artistic director from 1979 to 1996, and while she generally insisted that furnishings take second place aesthetically to architecture, she made an exception for Fontana Arte pieces such as the Tavolo con Ruote series of glass coffee and dining tables on wheels, bold lighting pieces such as the Parola series and the Giova, a combination flower vase and table lamp. As a key incubator of modern design under Aulenti’s tenure, Fontana Arte remained true to its long-held commitment — creating objects that have never been less than daring.
Find vintage Fontana Arte lighting fixtures such as pendants, table lamps and more on 1stDibs.
Mod. 1929 Rectangular Mirror by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte, Italy, c.1960
By Fontana Arte, Max Ingrand
Located in London, GB
This original, rectangular Mod. 1929 mirror is designed by Max Ingrand and was produced for Fontana Arte, c.1960. This particular piece is distinguished by...
Steel
Rare 'A Treccia' Coloured Glass Vanity Mirror by Seguso, Murano, Italy, c. 1935
By Seguso
Located in London, GB
A rare and large 'a treccia' (braided) coloured glass vanity mirror by Seguso, Murano, Italy, c.1940. Intertwined strands of coloured, molten glass are carefully worked by hand to cr...
Brass
Rare Blue Bevelled Glass Mirror by Pietro Chiesa for Luigi Fontana & C. Italy
By Pietro Chiesa, Luigi Fontana
Located in London, GB
A rare glass mirror with a stunning blue bevel designed by Pietro Chiesa for Luigi Fontana & C., Italy, c.1940. The exquisite blue colour of the cut and champered bevel really highli...
Glass, Wood
Pink ‘Ultrafragola’ Mirror Designed by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, Italy
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in London, GB
The curvaceous pink ‘Ultrafragola’ mirror designed by Ettore Sottsass is probably the most iconic of all his many designs. Originally produced in the 1970s by Poltronova, the ‘Ultrafragola’ formed part of a series of Sottsass designs named Mobili Grigi. When illuminated, the lights within the mirror transform the white opaline acrylic shell into a stunning multi-pink display. This unique, individually numbered, re-edition piece is still produced by the same Florentine company today and is sold with a “Certificate of Authenticity”. The perfectly pink ‘selfie’ mirror!
Glass, Acrylic
Pink ‘Ultrafragola’ Mirror Designed by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, Italy
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in London, GB
The curvaceous pink ‘Ultrafragola’ mirror designed by Ettore Sottsass is probably the most iconic of all his many designs. Originally produced in the 1970s by Poltronova, the ‘Ultrafragola’ formed part of a series of Sottsass designs named Mobili Grigi. When illuminated, the lights within the mirror transform the white opaline acrylic shell into a stunning multi-pink display. This unique, individually numbered, re-edition piece is still produced by the same Florentine company today and is sold with a “Certificate of Authenticity”. The perfectly pink ‘selfie’ mirror!
Glass, Acrylic
Pink ‘Ultrafragola’ Mirror Designed by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, Italy
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in London, GB
The curvaceous pink ‘Ultrafragola’ mirror designed by Ettore Sottsass is probably the most iconic of all his many designs. Originally produced in the 1970s by Poltronova, the ‘Ultrafragola’ formed part of a series of Sottsass designs named Mobili Grigi. When illuminated, the lights within the mirror transform the white opaline acrylic shell into a stunning multi-pink display. This unique, individually numbered, re-edition piece is still produced by the same Florentine company today and is sold with a “Certificate of Authenticity”. The perfectly pink ‘selfie’ mirror...
Glass, Acrylic
Midcentury Squared Wall Mirror by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte, Italy 1960s
By Fontana Arte, Max Ingrand
Located in Rome, IT
Midcentury amazing squared wall mirror model 2377 mirrored coloured cut glass frame black wood fitting by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte. Made in Italy 29 - January - 1965. The original stamp is still visible on the back, as shown in the picture. Reference: Quaderni Fontana Arte n°7. Max Ingrand (1908 – 1969) ; Creating forward-thinking and innovative pieces of furniture years before his time, French stained glass designer and decorator Max Ingrand created design classics such as the Fontana table lamp, a bulbous white-painted metal frame with a satin white blown glass shade and globe. The Italian contemporary...
Metal
Mid-Century Rectangular Mirror Model 2014 by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte, 1960
By Fontana Arte, Max Ingrand
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-century Rectangular mirror model 2014 by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte, 1960s Designer Biography : "Max Ingrand was born in 1908 in Bressuire, France. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Paris where he specialized in decorative art. In 1931 Ingrand established his own workshop, where he experimented transparency, and light, notably with stained glass. Mad Ingrand was educated in Paris at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, where he studied interior design and specialized in decorative arts graduating in 1927. While at school, he apprenticed to renowned stained glass artist Jacques Grüber, known for his Art Nouveau stained glass windows...
Glass
Italian Modern Fontana Arte Inspired Mirror
By Fontana Arte, Pietro Chiesa, Max Ingrand
Located in Houston, TX
Italian Modern Fontana Arte Inspired Mirror. Offered Is A Shapely Italian Fontana Arte Inspired Full-Length Mirror With A Beautiful Green Mirrored Border And A Silver Interior Mirror...
Mirror
Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte Modernist Rectangular Mirror Model 2014
By Max Ingrand, Fontana Arte
Located in New York, NY
Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte rectangular mirror model 2014 consisting of thick dark gray/green colored strips of crystal glass surrounding original mirrored glass with nickel-plated ...
Chrome
Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte Rare Rectangular Brass and Glass Mirror Model 2172A
By Max Ingrand, Fontana Arte
Located in New York, NY
Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte rare rectangular modernist mirror model 2172A composed of exterior brass frame and thick polished beveled colored glass interior frame. This chic model ...
Brass
Vintage Wall Mirror Model 2014 by Max Ingrand, Glass, Italy, 1960
By Fontana Arte
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage wall mirror realized by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte in 1960. Model 2014. Very good condition. Ref. Fontana Arte nei migliori negozi, Quaderni Fontana Arte, Milano s.d. s....
Glass
