For any design enthusiast, Osvaldo Borsani represents the quintessence of Italian modernism of the early 1950s. The P40 chair (est. €3,000–4,000), like the D70 sofa (est. €5,000–7,000) created in 1955 for the firm Tecno, which the designer had just founded, remain today among the essential icons of contemporary design. Yet Osvaldo Borsani began his career at the Atelier di Varedo, his father Gaetano Borsani’s company. Gaetano, a key figure of Italian Art Deco, carried on—together with painter and master glassmaker Gino Maggioni—the Lombard tradition of Milanese Neoclassicism. Their style established a dialogue between architectural research and new decorative dynamics, expressed notably in the refined sobriety of the blackened-wood furniture featured in the sale (Sideboard, Atelier di Varedo edition, €5,000–7,000; or Bed, c. 1925, €7,000–9,000).
Osvaldo Borsani partially adopted the codes of this transalpine Art Deco to create, among other pieces, a black lacquered wood light fixture with Constructivist accents (Floor lamp, c. 1920, Arredamenti Borsani Varedo edition, est. €8,000–12,000). But he later moved away from them to evolve his aesthetic language during his participation in the 5th Milan Triennale in 1933, towards a distinctly Italian decorative rationalism. His palmwood, glass, metal, nitrocellulose, and parchment sideboards (est. €10,000–12,000), exhibited at the 5th Triennale in the Casa Minima, reflect this almost theatrical taste where rich materials and strict lines intertwine—an approach that would find a foundational echo in the iconoclastic and postmodern creations of the Memphis group.
The end of World War II and the fall of fascism called into question the foundations of rationalism, which had become associated with the ideological excesses of the Mussolinian regime. Osvaldo Borsani softened his designs, seeking a form of contemporary elegance similar to that of one of his famous peers, Gio Ponti. His furniture created for the Casa Belardinelli (Low table – Model 6796, est. €3,000–4,000), the Casa Maffioli (Center table – Model 6785, €7,000–9,000), or the Casa Borsani (Armchair – Model 6575, est. €4,000–6,000) emphasized curves and abandoned the idea of decoration to focus on form. Osvaldo Borsani did not, however, entirely give up the notion of ornament, as shown by his collaborations with artists such as Lucio Fontana (Low table, lacquered wood, brass, marble, and mixed media on glass, est. €30,000–40,000). Little by little, though, he shifted toward what would bring him fame: design.
Together with his brother Fulgenzio, he transformed the family workshop into a modern company, which took the name Tecno in 1954. Success followed almost immediately, starting the year the firm was founded, with the LT8 ceiling-to-floor lamps (€6,000–9,000 per pair), the T1 side tables (est. €3,000–4,000), and later, in the 1960s, with the P36 “Balestra” armchair designed by Carlo Di Carli (est. €8,000–12,000) and the unforgettable AT16 coat rack (est. €3,000–4,000). Celebrated by all, Tecno—thanks to its innovations, technical expertise, and rationalist heritage—helped define the contours of Italian industrial design.
