Woven cognac leather Brera bench by Guglielmo Ulrich for Matteo Grassi, 1990s

Furniture designer Guglielmo Ulrich was born in Milan to a family with Danish origins. After completing his studies at the Brera Academy, the Scuola Speciale di Architettura and the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1927, Ulrich’s status quickly rose in high-society circles, as he’d gained a reputation for creating elegant interiors for a range of commercial and private clients. Architecture and furniture design in Milan was evolving during the era owing to industrialization, and Ulrich’s modernist work was seen as fresh and forward-looking.

In 1930, Ulrich established the furniture company ARCA — which was short for Arredamento Casa — with colleagues Attilio Scaglia and Renato Wild. Together they created a platform for Ulrich’s designs, which were quite different from the typical furnishings found in Europe at the time. 

Ulrich favored simple lines — tapered table and chair legs, lean silhouettes — and the graceful contours of his console tables and dining chairs are representative of an endeavor to streamline neoclassical forms. He created luxurious but practical furniture and home accessories that featured an emphasis on craftsmanship as well as an integration of exotic materials such as ebonized wood, opaline glass and green marble. Ulrich’s designs were very much in line with what we now know as the Art Deco style, which was officially introduced to the world in 1925 at Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris. He collaborated with legendary architect and designer Gio Ponti on designs for a hotel property in the late 1930s and co-edited Ponti’s revered Domus magazine with Milanese architect Melchiorre Bega. 

By the 1950s, Ulrich was firmly established as one of the most influential Milanese designers, having a hand in designing homes, commercial properties and more. In 1961, he won the Fiera di Trieste award for his lightweight Trieste chair, a seat that shared common ground with Ponti’s iconic Superleggera chair and was produced by Saffa. 

Find vintage Guglielmo Ulrich seating, tables,and cabinets on 1stDibs.

Matteo Grassi was an artist, who was born in 1927. Grassi grew up during the 1930s and was inspired by the artistic atmosphere of the time.