IMPORTANT TRAPEZOIDAL FORM MIRROR BY MAX INGRAND FOR FONTANA ARTE

Important trapezoidal form, plate glass mirror by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte. The mirror consists of a one inch thick, concave glass backing, supporting a floating mirror plate, mounted on a cream coloured, lacquered wood brace. Italy. This piece is highly indicative in its quality and design of the craftsmanship and simple elegance for which Ingrand was famous. Bearing original maker’s sticker, which reads: “Fontanit Luigi Fontana Italy Milano.” Fig. 432 of Franco Deboni’s reference book Fontana Arte shows a conceptual drawing for this mirror, and fig 451 shows the mirror on display at the Fontana Arte boutique in Milan, circa 1957. “Light is the manifestation of life, artificial light is the continuity of life, because it maintains contact with the world and glorifies reality and transfigures it.” -Max Ingrand. Max Ingrand was born in France in 1908. He studied at the E?cole Nationale Supe?rieure des Arts De?coratfis in Paris and later apprenticed with the legendary master of Art Nouveau glass Jacques Gruber. Afterwards he began his own art glass studio with his wife Paule, which quickly brought them international renown. He was selected by Gio Ponti to head Fontana Arte in 1954 following the death of Pietro Chiesa, where he presided over a period of growth and innovation, creating many iconic Fontana Arte designs, some of which are still in production today. During this period he also continued to work with his own studio in Paris and was the president of the Socie?te? des Artistes De?corateurs. He died suddenly of influenza in 1969, at which point the directorship of Fontana Arte went briefly to Gio Ponti.
Circa 1950