Cupola Porcelain Creamer by Mario Bellini for Rosenthal, 1985

World-renowned architect-designer Mario Bellini has been an influential figure in Italian design since the 1960s. His prolific body of work spans architecture, urban planning, and furniture and industrial design.

Bellini was born in Milan in 1935. He graduated with a degree in architecture from Milan’s Polytechnic University in 1959. Shortly after, he became the design director at La Rinascente, a popular chain of Italian department stores. In 1963, he was hired by office equipment firm Olivetti as their chief design consultant. In the same year, he established Studio Bellini in Milan with business partner Marco Romano.

Although Bellini’s designs were less iconoclastic than those of his contemporary postmodern designers, they were no less innovative and are characterized by original, organic, technically complex forms. Iconic designs include the Amanta Chair (1966) and Le Bambole Sofa (1972) both for B&B Italia; the Kar-a-Sutra Van (1972) for Citroën, which was exhibited at Italy: The New Domestic Landscape at the New York Museum of Modern Art in 1972; the Divisumma 18 Electronic Calculator (1973) for Olivetti; the 412 Cab Chair (1976-7) and Victoria Series (1982) for Cassina; and the Bellini Chair (1998) for Heller, which won a Compasso d’Oro in 2001. Bellini has also designed for major international companies such as Artemide, Brionvega, Fiat, Flos, Pirelli, Renault, Rosenthal, Tecno, Vitra, and Yamaha.

From the 1980s, Bellini dedicated himself almost entirely to architecture. His architectural feats include the Villa Erba Exhibition and Convention Centre in Cernobbio, Como (1986-1990); the Tokyo Design Centre (1988-1992); the Natuzzi America Headquarters in North Carolina (1996-1998); the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne (1996-2003); the Deutsche Bank Headquarters in Frankfurt (2006-11); the City History Museum of Bologna (2003-12); the Department of Islamic Art at the Louvre in Paris (2005-12); and the new Milan Convention Centre (2008-12), which is the largest in Europe.

The prolific architect has many Italian projects currently underway or just completed including the refurbishment of terminal three at Roma-Fiumicino Airport (2014-2017), the Erzelli Science and Technology Park in Genoa, and the new Antiquarium Museum in Rome (2015-2017). At the time of writing, Bellini has various projects that are still at the design stage including the ‘Eco-City’ of Zhenjiang in China (2013-2018) and a large residential, cultural, and sports complex in Qatar (2014-2022).

From 1985 until 1991, Bellini edited the influential architectural and design magazine, Domus. In 1987, MoMA dedicated its first retrospective to the Italian master, honoring his life’s work and committing 25 pieces to its permanent collection. As well as being the focus of two more exhibitions, Bellini also curated countless art, design, and architecture exhibitions both in Italy and abroad. The number of accolades awarded to the designer-architect is almost endless. To date, he has received eight Compasso d’Oro awards, the Medaglia d’Oro (2004), the Ambrogino d’Oro for civic merit (2011), and many many others.

Today, Bellini leads seminars and workshops at universities and academic institutions around the world.

* Images courtesy of Mario Bellini Architects

German porcelain manufactory Rosenthal was originally founded as a ceramics-painting studio by Philipp Rosenthal Sr. (1855-1937) in 1879 at Schloss Erkersreuth in Bavaria, near the Czech border. Its first highly popular product was an ashtray inscribed with the words “Resting place for lit cigars.” In 1890, the company moved to the neighboring hamlet of Selb and, a year later, began to manufacture its own porcelain, since white porcelain was, at that time, in short supply. Rosenthal’s first complete table service was called Empire; it was exhibited along with other lines at Paris’s Exposition Universelle in 1900.

With the dawn of the 20th century, Rosenthal began producing porcelain tableware and services formed and decorated in the latest styles, like the Jugendstil Botticelli (1903), the Art Nouveau Darmstadt (1905), and the all-white Maria (1916) lines. Successes with this au courant approach led the company to launch an art pottery division in 1910, dedicated to luxury tableware, vases, and other decorative objects. By the 1930s, figurines were another important Rosenthal product, most notably the Disney-licensed Mickey Mouse pieces introduced in 1931.

In 1934, Philipp Rosenthal was forced to leave his company and country when his Jewish ancestry came under persecution by the Nazi regime. Despite the loss of its founder, the Rosenthal company remained the premier supplier of high-quality porcelain tableware to the Third Reich. After the war, in 1950, Philip Rosenthal Jr. (1916-2001) joined his father's company as an advertising manager. By 1958, he had become its CEO, continuing his father’s vision to produce high-quality porcelain in line with progressive tastes. Through the rest of the 20th century, Rosenthal was the most commercially successful porcelain producer in Germany.

In the postwar era, Rosenthal’s most famous tableware lines have included 2000 by Raymond Loewy and Richard Latham (1954), Magic Flute by Bjørn Wiinblad (1959), Suomi by Timo Sarpaneva (1976), and Moon by Jasper Morrison (1997). The company has enjoyed many popular and critically acclaimed collaborations with designers and brands, like Salvador Dalì, Tapio Wirkkala, Walter Gropius, Andy Warhol, Ron Arad, Enzo Mari, Konstantin Grcic, and Versace.

Rosenthal's product lines have encompassed more than ceramics over the years. In 1972, the company began producing furniture, under the subsidiary Rosenthal Einrichtung, in Espelkamp, Germany. Standouts from this arm of Rosenthal include Gunter Ferdinand Ris and Herbert Selldorf’s futuristic Sunball Lounge Chair (1969), Verner Panton’s Relaxer Rocking Chair (1974), Burchard Vogtherr's Vario Pillo Sectional Sofa (1970s), Vico Magistretti’s lightweight Faun Chair (1970s), and Erwin Nagel’s multifunctional Quadrondo Table (1980s). Later, Rosenthal focused on the production of high-quality office furniture, as well as decorative accessories for private interiors.

In 1997, Rosenthal became an independent arm of the Waterford Wedgwood holding company, but in 2009 faced bankruptcy as the Irish parent began to fall apart. At this time, Rosenthal was sold to Italian housewares group Sambonet Paderno Industrie. Unfortunately, Rosenthal Einrichtung was desolved and only a limited archive of the company's archive was kept intact.

Today, Rosenthal GmbH offers a small, exclusive range of furniture options under the label of Rosenthal Interieur, alongside its classic porcelain and tabletop collections.

* All images courtesy of Rosenthal GmbH.