Piero Fornasetti
The unmistakable decorations of Piero Fornasetti (1913-1988) represent one of the most extensive heritage in made in Italy design. Painter, sculptor, art books printer, set designer and interior decorator, Fornasetti invented and produced in his life more than 11.000 objects. A passionate collector of maps, military catalogues, matchboxes, playing cards, his eclectic and nonconformist talent was already evident at the age of 17, when he enrolled at the Brera Academy in Milan. Hostile to traditional methods of study, he developed a particular artisan technique that allowed him to print his "magic" decorations on every type of object and furniture. Fornasetti's first promoter was his friend Gio Ponti, who noticed his black and white printed silk scarves at the Triennale exhibition in 1933: this was the beginning of a long-lasting four-handed collaboration.