Giovanni Ferrabini

Italian modernist architect and designer Giovanni Ferrabini created this charming three-piece vanity comprising a dressing table, a mirror, and a chair articulated in painted wrought iron. Ferrabini was a multifaceted artist who, in his younger years, had excelled in his studies in sculpture before taking up architecture. He concurrently pursued furniture design, and his functional creations would reference the lyrical nature of his early artistic education.

In 1940, Giovanni Ferrabini began working as an architect within the Fiat Company, earning a living that would grant him the possibility to develop a side practice as a sculptor and furniture designer. Ferrabini subsequently drew up a singular vocabulary that, although it relied strongly on the use of wrought iron, was soft and whimsical. He went on to receive commissions from wealthy Turin industrialists as well as Veronese collectors from his personal circle, which earned him praise from the European press. Ferrabini eschewed industrial manufacturing and produced these pieces of furniture on an extremely small scale. He found great joy in the artisanal aspect of the process and imbued each work with its own distinct identity. The dressing table, chair and mirror that compose this lyrical ensemble are wonderful examples of Ferrabini’s contribution to Italian furniture design.