Yellow Leather Loveseat Two-Seat Sofa Osvaldo Borsani Italian Modern
About the Item
- Creator:
- Dimensions:Height: 31 in (78.74 cm)Width: 54 in (137.16 cm)Depth: 39 in (99.06 cm)Seat Height: 16.5 in (41.91 cm)
- Style:Post-Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1985
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor structural damages. fair vintage condition. Minor age appropriate wear. Some wrinkling to leather.
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4190312479632
Osvaldo Borsani
With his stylish and technically innovative furniture, Osvaldo Borsani helped change the face of Italian design in the 1950s and ’60s. His sofas and chairs, featuring deeply upholstered seating and adjustable position settings, have an aura of optimism and efficiency that still seems fresh and lively today.
Born in the commune of Varedo in northern Italy’s Lombardy region, Borsani studied at the Brera Academy in Milan — the same school attended by such luminaries as designer Piero Fornasetti and artist Lucio Fontana — as well as the Polytechnic University of Milan. Borsani first worked for his father’s furniture-making firm, Arredamenti Borsani, an atelier influenced by the more expressive and curvaceous wing of Art Deco design.
By 1953, when, along with his twin brother, Fulgenzio — the pair also created this visionary mid-century villa — Borsani opened the furniture company Tecno, his design sensibilities had evolved toward furnishings with strong, simple forms enhanced by mechanical innovations, as with the P40 adjustable armchair. Borsani would be the firm’s lead designer for 30 years, while fostering work by Vico Magistretti, Carlo De Carli, Robin Day and others.
Similar to Gio Ponti in the earliest years of his career, Borsani first created designs marked by lush and buoyant lines: tables with voluptuous curved legs, sofas with undulating backrests.
But Borsani’s best-known and most novel pieces date from Tecno’s initial furniture lines: the adjustable D70 sofa, which folds open to make a daybed, and the P40 recliner. The latter — now included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Victoria Albert Museum — is an articulated lounger with a back, seat and leg rest that can be moved into 486 different positions. Not only is it extremely comfortable, it is also enduringly chic.
Find a collection of vintage Osvaldo Borsani tables, dining chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Tecno
From his early start at his father’s boutique furniture and cabinetry atelier — Arredamenti Borsani (ABV) — Italian designer Osvaldo Borsani began to steadily dream to life the movement-inducing pieces that would eventually lead to him founding his innovative furniture company, Tecno, with his twin brother, Fulgenzio.
Born in the commune of Varedo in northern Italy’s Lombardy region, Borsani studied at the Brera Academy in Milan — the same school attended by such luminaries as designer Piero Fornasetti and artist Lucio Fontana — as well as the Polytechnic University of Milan. He first worked for the family furniture-making firm, ABV, an atelier influenced by the more expressive and curvaceous wing of Art Deco design. Borsani took over Arredamenti Borsani in 1937.
With his stylish and technically innovative furniture, Borsani helped change the face of Italian design in the 1950s and ’60s. His sofas and chairs, featuring deeply upholstered seating and adjustable position settings, have an aura of optimism and efficiency that still seems fresh and lively today.
While he is today recognized as a master of mid-century modernist Italian furniture, Borsani is most famous these days for cofounding Tecno. (He and Fulgenzio also created Villa Borsani, a visionary mid-century estate cherished for its modern lines and exquisite custom furnishings.)
When Borsani opened Tecno, an office-focused maker of industrial design, his design sensibilities had evolved toward furnishings with strong, simple forms enhanced by mechanical innovations, as with the P40 adjustable armchair.
When they were originally released, Tecno pieces like the P40 and the award-winning D70 sofa bed were acclaimed as cutting-edge, and they are still considered groundbreaking in their adaptability and functionality. The firm quickly garnered widespread acclaim for its tech-forward designs and quality craftsmanship.
Borsani would be Tecno’s lead designer for 30 years, while partnering on projects with the likes of architect Eugenio Gerli and fostering work by Vico Magistretti, Carlo De Carli, Robin Day and others.
Borsani designed pieces for Tecno until shortly before his death in 1985, when his daughter Valeria and her husband, Marco Fantoni, took over the creative work.
Today, the family’s legacy is preserved by Borsani’s architect grandson Tommaso Fantoni, who, along with Norman Foster, curated a blockbuster retrospective of Osvaldo Borsani’s work at Milan’s Triennale Design Museum in 2018.
Find vintage Tecno chairs, tables, desks and other furniture on 1stDibs.
You May Also Like
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Loveseats
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Vintage 1950s French Loveseats
Upholstery, Wood
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass, Steel
Antique 1870s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather, Beech
Vintage 1970s Italian Loveseats
Fabric
Late 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Metal, Brass
More From This Seller
View AllMid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary British Post-Modern Sofas
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
Silk, Velvet
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Organic Modern Sectional Sofas
Textile
