Maralunga Armchair with Ottoman

Vico Magistretti, Cassina

VICO MAGISTRETTI (Milan, 1920 - 2006) for Cassina. Maralunga armchair with ottoman, 1970s. Brown leather upholstery. Good secondhand condition, with visible signs of wear typical of its age and use. The Maralunga by Vico Magistretti emerged from a legendary moment when Cesare Cassina, the industrialist who had commissioned the most comfortable sofa possible, became frustrated with a prototype that seemed too rigid. In a moment of frustration, Cassina punched the back of the sofa, which gave way and tilted forward. "Correct, brilliant, I think it's perfect like that," responded Magistretti. He wasn't dissimulating or following his client's lead, but being totally sincere: when the backrest folded, the sofa acquired the precise movement to make it perfect. The designer incorporated an internal mechanism in the backrest and arms that allowed them to rotate inward thanks to a simple bicycle chain. This time, the reaction was different: the Maralunga was born, one of the most famous sofas of the 20th century, a milestone in furniture design, and certainly the model that marked a before and after in the industry. Vico Magistretti was an Italian industrial designer, dedicated to furniture and architecture. He graduated from the Polytechnic of Milan in 1945 and became a follower of Ernesto Nathan Rogers. During the 1950s he devoted himself to mass-produced furniture design. Some of his lamps are famous, such as the one called Eclisse. Some of his designs are present in important museums in Europe, the United States and Japan. MoMA in New York houses Magistretti objects in its permanent collection.