Design Moment Piero Fornasetti.
A fondness for whimsy and an eye for style helped etch this designer’s place in history, writes Chris Pearson.
Forever seeking fresh ideas, Milanese painter, sculptor and interior decorator Piero Fornasetti was leafing through a 19th-century magazine in 1951 when an image stopped him in his tracks. Staring at him in sepia was an Italian opera singer, Lina Cavalieri. As enigmatic as the Mona Lisa, the diva, with her cool impassivity and flawless complexion, captivated him – especially the eyes. Thus began a love affair with Cavalieri, who became the face that launched 1000 plates (and much more besides).
Fornasetti went on to become one of the most prolific artists of the 20th century, producing some 13,000 works, typically in graphic black and white but also in bold colour, with wacky humour, intrigue and a sprinkling of magic – trompe l’oeil was a favourite device. His astounding output straddled furniture, including chairs, cabinets and screens, and accessories, including candles, cushions and umbrella
stands, realised in glass, fabric, porcelain and timber. Recurrent themes, apart from Cavalieri, included classical architecture, the sun, playing cards, harlequins, the human body and self-portraits.
He saw himself as a storyteller, weaving whimsical tales. “In each piece,” he said, “I place a message, a small story, sometimes ironic, obviously without words but audible by those who believe in poetry.”
Fornasetti was born in Milan in 1913. His accountant father wanted his son to follow in his footsteps, but young Piero had his sights set on being an artist. In 1930, he joined Milan’s Brera Art Academy but was expelled for insubordination. He then enrolled at night school, but it was constant foraging that really kindled his imagination.
“No one in the workshops I went to could teach me. I learned from books, lithography and etching,” he said. He won an academic grant and explored northern Africa, absorbing all he saw and later using it for inspiration. On his return, he designed a series of scarves that caught the eye of designer Gio Ponti. In 1950, they began a celebrated and prolific partnership, working on furniture designs for Cassina and even outfitting an ocean liner.
The sense of wonder and discovery never left him. “I will never forget the excitement I felt as a boy,” he said, “when for the first time my pen started to trace the outline of a leg, then the body, then a face. I was amazed, ecstatic and appreciative of this miracle.”
WHAT IT MEANS TO US
Fornasetti’s son, Barnaba Fornasetti, continues his father’s legacy. As this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan proved, the appeal is undimmed, with a new range ange of 11 rugs, some with the ubiquitous quitous roving eyes, attesting to his vision. “My father taught me to fight for independence of thought and to resist conformism,” he said. “His fluidity of movement, his agile transition from one discipline to another, his inextinguishable thirst for knowledge dge and the absence of preconceptions allowed d him to create an enduring and universal language.” g
Designers such as Greg Natale, who decorated a home in Sydney’s inner west with a nod to Fornasetti, would agree.
Sixteen Fornasetti plates amassed by the owner were the starting point – they grace the living room wall, while graphic Cole & Son wallpaper and Architettura kitchen tiles with classical references celebrate the designer in all his glory. “He’s timeless and makes a decor playful. And there’s that quirk factor,” says Natale. When it comes to Fornasetti’s place in the design pantheon, it seems the eyes really do have it.