The first time I saw Piero Fornasetti’s decorative arts designs I stopped dead in my tracks. Here were these whimsical illustrated faces with big round eyes staring at me from a shop window. What was I to do but stare right back!
There is something absolutely irresistible about these faces. Fornasetti painted over 350 of them.
Piero Fornasetti was born in Milan in 1913 and was painting by age 10. A rebellious child he was thrown out of school. Piero then taught himself how to paint and draw from books. And he drew night and day.
He rejected the concept of art movements and felt labels like Renaissance, Neo-Classical, Surrealism were confusing and therefore did not exist. Only good drawings existed according to Fornasetti. “I don’t believe in periods or in dates. I don’t believe in them. I refuse to determine the value of an object by its date. I don’t limit myself, and nothing is too esoteric to be used as inspiration. I want to free my inspiration from the limitations of the usual.” Piero Fornasetti
The Piero Fornasetti web site is the source for this text and a work of art in itself.
xo MaryMaru
Very interesting! I looked him up & found the face in these illustrations is that of a real woman – an opera singer of the time: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cavalieri.jpg
He must have been obsessed!
The singer you mentioned, Lina Cavalieri, seems like she had an extraordinary life herself. And, apparently, Fornasetti discovered her in the pages of a 19th-century magazine.
Mary, your blog is gorgeous and rich in content. I look forward to exploring it more.
Thanks for dropping by the rabbit hole.
—
Alice
http://www.AliceBraga.com
Glad you stopped by, Alice. See you again soon at either your place or mine. 🙂
We introduce to you an Italian brand which bears the name of a famous Milanese artist, Piero Fornasetti, whose legacy is alive thanks to reeditions of his unique creations and prints. Praguekabinet is the first company in our country to offer you furniture and accessories signed by this master, which will significantly enhance the appearance of every private or public interior.
http://www.praguekabinet.com/en/catalogue/fornasetti
Love the faces. Are we allowed to use his images for small commercial purposes
I don’t know the answer to that, Jeannie. Sorry.