Pan Armchair by Vico Magistretti for Rosenthal, 1970s

Innovative architect, industrial designer, and urban planner Vico Magistretti was a driving force in Italian design from the 1960s onwards. Born into a family of successful Milanese architects in 1920, he became one of Italy’s most respected designers, celebrated for an uncanny mastery of clarity of form.

During the Second World War, Magistretti fled to Lausanne, Switzerland to escape military deportation and began to attend classes at the Champ Universitaire Italien in Lausanne. There, he met and befriended legendary rationalist architect Ernesto Nathan Rogers (1909-69), cofounder of BBPR, who would become a lifelong mentor.

Upon returning to Italy, Magistretti pursued an architecture degree from the Politecnico di Milano, graduating in 1945, and began working at his father’s architectural firm with Paolo Chessa. Shortly after joining the firm, Magistretti’s father, Pier Giulio, passed away.

In the immediate postwar reconstruction years, Magistretti began to work produce modernist furniture designs, especially for exhibition in R.I.M.A. and the Triennale alongside other important Italian architect-designers like Franco Albini, the Castiglioni brothers, Ignazio Gardella, and Marco Zanuso.

During the 1960s and beyond, Magistretti created a number of sleek, high concept furniture and lighting design for major manufacturers, such as Artemide, Campeggi, Cassina, De Padova, Flou, Fontana Arte, Fritz Hansen, Kartell, Olivari, Oluce, Poggi, Schiffini, and Gebrüder Thonet Vienna. Iconic designs from Magistretti career include the Eclipse Table Lamp (1966, Compasso d’Oro 1967), Selene Stacking Chair (1968), Chimera Lamp (1969), and Giuone Floor Lamp (1969) for Artemide; Maralunga Seating (1973, Compasso d’Oro in 1979) and Nuvola Rossa Bookshelves (1977) for Cassina; and the Sonora Pendant (1976) and Model 233 Atollo Table Lamp (1977, Compasso d’Oro 1979) for Oluce.

Magistretti’s most famous architectural additions to Milan are the Tower in Park in Via Revere (1953-56, in conjunction with Franco Longoni) and the office block in Corso Europa (1955-1957). Other architectural feats include the Towers in Piazzale Aquileia (1961-64), Bassetti House in Azzate (1959-62), Cassina House in Carimate (1964-65), a house in Via Conservatorio in Milan (1963-66), Cusano Milanino Town Hall (1966-69), the Milano San Felice neighborhood in Segrate (1966-69, in partnership with Luigi Caccia Dominioni), and a house in Piazza San Marco (1969-71).

Throughout the course of his career, Magistretti held prestigious professorships at the Royal College of Arts in London and the Domus Academy in Milan. His work has been acquired by important museums around the world, including MoMA New York and the Victoria & Albert in London.

Magistretti passed away in 2006. 

* Images courtesy of Artemide, Cassina, and Gebrüder Thonet Vienna

German porcelain manufactory Rosenthal was originally founded as a ceramics-painting studio by Philipp Rosenthal Sr. (1855-1937) in 1879 at Schloss Erkersreuth in Bavaria, near the Czech border. Its first highly popular product was an ashtray inscribed with the words “Resting place for lit cigars.” In 1890, the company moved to the neighboring hamlet of Selb and, a year later, began to manufacture its own porcelain, since white porcelain was, at that time, in short supply. Rosenthal’s first complete table service was called Empire; it was exhibited along with other lines at Paris’s Exposition Universelle in 1900.

With the dawn of the 20th century, Rosenthal began producing porcelain tableware and services formed and decorated in the latest styles, like the Jugendstil Botticelli (1903), the Art Nouveau Darmstadt (1905), and the all-white Maria (1916) lines. Successes with this au courant approach led the company to launch an art pottery division in 1910, dedicated to luxury tableware, vases, and other decorative objects. By the 1930s, figurines were another important Rosenthal product, most notably the Disney-licensed Mickey Mouse pieces introduced in 1931.

In 1934, Philipp Rosenthal was forced to leave his company and country when his Jewish ancestry came under persecution by the Nazi regime. Despite the loss of its founder, the Rosenthal company remained the premier supplier of high-quality porcelain tableware to the Third Reich. After the war, in 1950, Philip Rosenthal Jr. (1916-2001) joined his father's company as an advertising manager. By 1958, he had become its CEO, continuing his father’s vision to produce high-quality porcelain in line with progressive tastes. Through the rest of the 20th century, Rosenthal was the most commercially successful porcelain producer in Germany.

In the postwar era, Rosenthal’s most famous tableware lines have included 2000 by Raymond Loewy and Richard Latham (1954), Magic Flute by Bjørn Wiinblad (1959), Suomi by Timo Sarpaneva (1976), and Moon by Jasper Morrison (1997). The company has enjoyed many popular and critically acclaimed collaborations with designers and brands, like Salvador Dalì, Tapio Wirkkala, Walter Gropius, Andy Warhol, Ron Arad, Enzo Mari, Konstantin Grcic, and Versace.

Rosenthal's product lines have encompassed more than ceramics over the years. In 1972, the company began producing furniture, under the subsidiary Rosenthal Einrichtung, in Espelkamp, Germany. Standouts from this arm of Rosenthal include Gunter Ferdinand Ris and Herbert Selldorf’s futuristic Sunball Lounge Chair (1969), Verner Panton’s Relaxer Rocking Chair (1974), Burchard Vogtherr's Vario Pillo Sectional Sofa (1970s), Vico Magistretti’s lightweight Faun Chair (1970s), and Erwin Nagel’s multifunctional Quadrondo Table (1980s). Later, Rosenthal focused on the production of high-quality office furniture, as well as decorative accessories for private interiors.

In 1997, Rosenthal became an independent arm of the Waterford Wedgwood holding company, but in 2009 faced bankruptcy as the Irish parent began to fall apart. At this time, Rosenthal was sold to Italian housewares group Sambonet Paderno Industrie. Unfortunately, Rosenthal Einrichtung was desolved and only a limited archive of the company's archive was kept intact.

Today, Rosenthal GmbH offers a small, exclusive range of furniture options under the label of Rosenthal Interieur, alongside its classic porcelain and tabletop collections.

* All images courtesy of Rosenthal GmbH.