GUGLIELMO ULRICH (1904-1977) AN IMPORTANT AND EARLY ARMCHAIR, CIRCA 1935
suede and silk upholstery, carved walnut legs
42 1/8 in. (107 cm.) high
GUGLIELMO ULRICH (1904-1977) AN IMPORTANT AND EARLY ARMCHAIR, CIRCA 1935
suede and silk upholstery, carved walnut legs
42 1/8 in. (107 cm.) high
L. Scacchetti, Guglielmo Ulrich, Milan, 2009, p. 251 for a drawing of a related chaise longue and p. 376 for a chair with comparable carving to the legs; I. de Guttry, M. P. Maino, Il Mobile Déco Italiano 1920-1940, Rome, 1988, p. 257 for a period image showing other chairs with comparable carving to the legs.
This powerfully expressive form offers a confidence of presence sustained by a dramatic sensuality. The perfectly circular wings drop unexpectedly to release a scrolling volume of sumptuous upholstery, the whole stabilized by gently outstretched arms and anchored upon extravagant, naturalistically-rendered rear legs. This unique design elegantly synthesizes many of those attributes that were beginning to assert prominence by the late 1930s – notably Surrealism, a revival of fashionable interest in the Baroque, and a preference for anthropomorphic forms – and that were to anticipate wider stimulation amongst a new generation of designers by the 1940s.
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