Italian designer Marco Zanuso helped cement his country’s place as a world leader in furniture design that used new materials in revolutionary ways.
Zanuso was part of a generation of furniture designers who encouraged a sharp departure from the traditionalism and classicalism that reigned over the design industry before the war. These designers, who are associated with what we now call mid-century modernism, experimented with new technologies and materials to deliver on the world’s newfound need for streamlined products that represented the future.
After graduating from the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1939 with a degree in architecture, Zanuso served in the Navy during World War II. Soon after the war, he opened his own design firm in Milan in 1945. He later became an editor at well-regarded design magazines Domus and Casabella.
Zanuso used this editorial platform to both promote new Italian designs as well as his own pieces, some of which he made using unconventional materials like foam and latex. For instance, his famous Lady armchair from 1951 is a composition of foam rubber and Nastro Cord, a recently invented textile band of rubberized fabric that eliminated the need for metal springs. It was one of several pieces he designed for Italian manufacturer Arflex, along with the 1949 Antropus chair and the 1951 Sleep-o-matic sofa.
Zanuso often collaborated with other like-minded creatives. From 1955 until 1957, he was Olivetti’s architect, designing factories across Brazil, and for nearly two decades, he collaborated with German designer Richard Sapper. The pair’s most famous product is the 4999 children’s chair, manufactured in the 1960s by Kartell in Italy. The stackable chair was the first to be manufactured entirely of injection-molded plastic.
Zanuso and Sapper also partnered on the 1962 Brionvega Doney 14, the first European-made portable transistor TV; its sleek, compact and curvy form deeply influenced the design of television sets that followed, which were far more sculptural in form than the rigid boxes that characterized early models.
From the 1970s onward, Zanuso taught architecture and industrial design at the Polytechnic University of Milan. He still exercised his creative talents, planning the headquarters for computer companies and renovating Italian theaters.
Each of Zanuso’s elegant works were demonstrative of a forward-looking sensibility. His projects saw an integration of novel industrial materials that not only helped emphasize the beauty of good design but also played a role in rendering these well-made products accessible to everyday consumers.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Marco Zanuso furniture, including armchairs, sofas, table lamps and other items.
Matteo Ceccarelli. “Brutalist” sculptural dining table. 1980s.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Matteo Ceccarelli Brutalist-style dining table. A clear glass top rests on two distinctive legs—true sculptures—made of oxidized and patinated metal. Made in Italy in the 1980s. W...
Steel
Matteo Ceccarelli. “Brutalist” sculptural dining table. 1980s.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Matteo Ceccarelli Brutalist-style dining table. A clear glass top rests on two distinctive legs—true sculptures—made of oxidized and patinated metal. Made in Italy in the 1980s. W...
Metal
Coffee table forming a bar with sliding top. 1970s.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Maison Jansen, in the style of. Coffee table forming a bar with a sliding top in wood and brown melamine with iridescent gold decoration. French work realized in the 1970s. Dimens...
Wood
Maison Baguès, Set of Nesting Tables, 1970s
By Maison Baguès
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Maison Baguès, attributed to. Set of three nesting tables. Base in gilded brass in imitation of bamboo. Top in églomisé glass. French work realized in the 1970s. Dimensions ...
Brass
Gastone Rinaldi, Table in Chromed Metal and Smoked Glass, 1970s
By Gastone Rinaldi
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Gastone Rinaldi, attributed to. Table. Top in glass smoked. Circular and openwork metal base. Italian work realized in the 1970s. Gastone Rinaldi (1920-2016) is an Italian designer. In 1916, his father, Mario Rinaldi, founded RIMA, a company that produced metal furniture. In 1948, Gastone Rinaldi and his brother replaced their father within the company. He met Gio Ponti in 1950 and, with his help, designed the chairs (DU10 and DU11) for the hospital section of the IXth Triennale in Milan. On this occasion he also presents the chair with the DU9 rocking back. During this period, the Domus magazine regularly publishes its achievements. He participated in the XXX Fiera Campionaria, in 1952, in the section “Art and Industrial Aesthetics” whose curators were among others Alberto Rosselli, Ettore Sottsass and Marco Zanuso. In 1954, he received the Compasso d’Oro for the DU30 chair. He participated with Ponti, Parisi, De Carli and Gardella, in the American adventure of Altamira, one of the first foreign companies to call on Italian designers. He designs, with Carlo Mollino, the chairs for the Molinette hospital in Turin. In 1957, the DU41...
Chrome
Dining room set in wengé. 1970s.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Dining room set in wenge, consisting of a table and six chairs. Rectangular table, cross-shaped base. Chairs with rope seats and curved backs. Danish work realized in the 1970s.
Abalone, Wenge
"Eccentrico" Table by Angelo Mangiarotti
By Angelo Mangiarotti
Located in Paris, FR
A spectacular cantilevered table with gravity joint made by the famous architect Angelo Mangiarotti. An elegant mix of minimalism and stone textures.
Marble
Acerbis Le Cupole Table by Francesco Meda, David Lopez Quincoces
By Acerbis, Francesco Meda
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A perfect synthesis of material and form. Le Cupole, the new table designed by Francesco Meda and David Lopez Quincoces, is a tribute to geometric purity and sculptural elegance. The...
Marble
" Nodo " Table by Carlo Bartoli 1970s
By Carlo Bartoli
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The Nodo table was designed in the 1970s by Italian designer Carlo Bartoli for the manufacturer Tisettanta . It features a distinctive crossed chrome base with a round glass top . ex...
Crystal, Chrome
Table by Giulio Lazzotti for Mageia
By Giulio Lazzotti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Table with etched grindstone base and marble top by Giulio Lazzotti for Mageia. Made in Italy circa 1981. The name of the town where Giulio Lazzotti lives and works, Pietrasanta, can be alternately translated as Saint Peter or “holy stone,” the latter being wholly appropriate for a designer and architect whose work in marble, metal and wood takes on a serene, sculptural presence. Lazzotti was educated at the prestigious University of Florence, where he later returned to teach architecture. Since 1975, Lazzotti has maintained a diverse practice encompassing architecture, interior design and furniture design, winning such awards as first prize for Design at the Moving Fair of Paris, the Torre Guinigi prize in Lucca for Urban Design for the historical center of Pietrasanta, a top ten in the International Chair Fair at Udine and, most recently, the Good Design prize from the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization. Following in the tradition of classic Italian sculptors and craftsman, Lazzotti’s furniture is produced with an artisan’s eye for material nuance and imbued with modernist simplicity. Internationally recognized for his work with stone, Lazzotti has organized symposia on the material and taught courses like “Design in Marble” at the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara, Italy (home to the famous white carrara marble quarries). Lazzotti has worked with many international companies, including Iveco, The Conran Shop...
Stone, Marble, Metal, Copper
Giulio Lazzotti postmodern dining table Mageia Italy 1980s
By Giulio Lazzotti, Mageia Pietrasanta
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
A remarkable expression of Postmodern design sensibility, this rare dining or working table was designed by Italian architect Giulio Lazzotti and manufactured by Mageia in the early ...
Slate
Vico Magistretti for Schiffini- Table, 1970s
Located in Palermo, PA
Elegant table designed by Vico Magistretti for Schiffini in the 1970s, an authentic expression of modern Italian design. The frame consists of cylindrical legs made of black lacquere...
Carrara Marble, Metal
