Fornasetti

As there has been a wealth of colour here of late I thought now was a good time to share something a little more restrained. I discovered this amazing wallpaper on a recent sofa buying trip to Stockton’s in Manchester and loved the simplicity and softness of these faces. It is awesome, closeup, to see how much detail, tone and shape can be achieved through a few black and white lines.

After some research I found that it was the work of Piero Fornasetti (or his son, Barnaba Fornasetti who continues to design in his father’s name). Piero Fornasetti was a painter, sculptor, interior decorator and engraver who lived in Milan in 1900′s.

He created more than 11,000 items, many featuring the face of a woman – a soprano called Lina Cavalieri having found her face in a 19th century magazine. Not the only one who enjoys working from magazine tearings then!

“What inspired me to create more than 500 variations on the face of a woman?” asks Italian designer “I don’t know,” he admits, “I began to make them and I never stopped.” Wikkipedia