A story that began in 1954. That was the year in which the master glassmaker Max Ingrand created Fontana, the lamp that almost 70 years later is still an icon of FontanaArte, the Milan-based firm founded by two other outstanding figures in the world of design: Gio Ponti and Luigi Fontana.
Fontana ©Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti
Today, FontanaArte presents two original versions of the lamp, made in blown white satin-finish glass, and subsequently reissued in total black. The selected colors are pale gray and amethyst violet. The reasons behind the choices are explained by Giuseppe Di Nuccio, CEO of the brand: “We have a legacy that has to be updated to meet the tastes of new generations, precisely because it is timeless.”
The decision is part of the strategy of FontanaArte (belonging since 2016 to ItalianCreationGroup), which sets out to reimagine the products of FontanaArte in terms of dialogue with the great masters and the tradition of fine Italian design, attempting to foreshadow new aesthetic codes.
Fontana (amethyst violet) ©Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti
The lamp, originally known as the 1853, was later renamed Fontana, as a tribute to the company where the glassmaker was artistic director for one decade.
“Light and color are undoubtedly the most specific features of nature. Thanks to them, we can have serenity, movement, life,” Max Ingrand said. “Actually, the history of architecture tells us about the role of illuminated, matte, translucent color, in both interiors and exteriors. Light was not just a way to breathe life in colors, but also a way to give life to an entire work of architecture.”
