Piero Fornasetti (1913-1988)

Many subjects inspired the Italian designer Piero Fornasetti, from butterflies to buildings, musical instruments to harlequins. One of his recurring themes was the sun, and nowhere was this employed to greater effect than on his iconic Sole These pieces, decorated with an anthropomorphised sun, was dreamt up in the early 1950s and still excites Fornasetti fans to this day.

Celestial themes featured heavily in Piero Fornasetti’s work and the sun occupied a privileged position in his repertoire of natural forms. In the early 1940s, he designed a series of almanacs for the architect Gio Ponti, who encouraged the then-young artist to experiment with his artworks on furniture. This led to Fornasetti’s imaginative patterns. He used a variety of motifs, but by far the most enduring was a sun (sole).

‘The face is used on many different pieces,’ says Holly. ‘It is one full of character. I’ve been a dealer in Fornasetti for 20 years and this is definitely a favourite. It has those typical elements of his work – the fabulous classical design made so contemporary.’