of the four case museo di milano (milan house museums), the casa museo boschi di stefano and the villa necchi campiglio are the most exceptional.
the casa museo boschi di stefano has the best salon style art installations that i have ever seen.
salon style installation of works from the spazialisti (spatialist) and nucleari (nuclear) art movements
casa museo boschi di stefano | milan, italy
architecture
both the necchi campiglio villa and the boschi di stefano apartment building were designed by architect piero portaluppi (1888-1967) during the 1930’s.
click here to read my previous post about the villa necchi campiglio.
portaluppi designed the apartment building in 1929-1931 for property developer, francesco di stefano. at the time, di stefano was building a new development of apartment buildings in the neighborhood surrounding corso buenos aires. as part of the development, di stefano built a five-story apartment building for his family. the building included a one floor apartment for each of his five children. his daughter, marieda di stefano (1901-1968), and her husband, antonio boschi (1896-1988), lived in the apartment on the second floor.
piero portaluppi (1888-1967) | staircase in the di stefano family’s apartment building | via giorgio jan, 15 | milan, italy
furniture
most of the furniture was purchased by the fondazione boschi di stefano, and is not original to the apartment. consequently, most of the rooms are no longer furnished according to their original function. instead, they are furnished with pieces from the same time period as the architecture and the art collection.
the foundation considers the credenza, dining table, and six chairs, designed by italian artist mario sironi (1885-1961) for the 1936 triennale di milano exhibition, as their most important acquisition. other notable purchases include an art deco desk, bookcase, table, and bar (circa 1930), designed by sicilian architect ernesto basile (1857-1932), and six chairs (circa 1930), designed by portaluppi.
mario sironi (1885-1961) | credenza, dining table, and six chairs | walnut, bronze, parchment, and ebony | designed for the 1936 triennale di milano exhibition
room 5 | sironi room | originally a study | casa museo boschi di stefano | milan, italy
lighting
the light fixtures acquired by the foundation for the apartment include the ‘who’s who’ of the italian glass industry. most are classic murano glass light fixtures from 1925-1940 by barovier, giacomo cappelin (1887-1968), venini, or napoleone martinuzzi (1892-1977) for venini. some are more modern, but from the same time period, such as the ceiling light in the sironi room by piero chiesa (1892-1948) for fontana arte.
art collection
boschi and di stefano collected over 2000 works of twentieth century italian art, which they donated to the city of milan in 1974 and 1988. part of the boschi di stefano collection is on exhibit at the museo del novecento, a contemporary art museum established by the city of milan in 2010.
about 300 works of art from the boschi di stefano collection are chronologically displayed in their apartment, according to art movement. there are entire rooms filled with works by novecento (1900’s) movement co-founder mario sironi (1885-1961) and spazialisti (spatialist) movement co-founder lucio fontana (1899-1968).
lucio fontana (1899-1968) | concetto spaziale, attese | 1958-1960
lucio fontana (1899-1968) | concetto spaziale, attese | 1958-1960
lucio fontana (1899-1968) | concetto spaziale | 1956
lucio fontana (1899-1968) | concetto spaziale, crocifissione | 1956
salviati | 14 light chandelier | glass | 20th century
piero portaluppi (1888-1967) | six chairs | walnut | 1930
room 9 | fontana room | originally antonio boschi’s study | casa museo boschi di stefano | milan, italy
the boschi di stefano collection includes works by other well known artists, such as giorgio morandi (1890-1964) and giorgio de chirico (1888-1978).
giorgio de chirico (1888-1978) | la scuola dei gladiatori: il combattimento | 1928
giorgio de chirico (1888-1978) | facitori di trofei | 1925-1928
napoleone martinuzzi (1892-1977) for venini | 11 light chandelier | pagliesco (mercury) glass | 1925-1930
barovier | pair of floor lamps | pulegoso (bubbled) glass | 1935-1940
modern suite of upholstered furniture based on a design by piero portaluppi (1888-1967)
room 7 | paris school room | originally the living room | casa museo boschi di stefano | milan, italy
plus, works from the gruppo di corrente (current group), the scuola di parigi (paris school), and the chiaristi (clear), nucleari (nuclear), and informale (informal) art movements.
salon style installation of works from the spazialisti (spatialist) and nucleari (nuclear) art movements
giacomo cappelin (1887-1968) | six light chandelier | glass | 1925-1930
room 10 | spatialist and nuclear room | originally marieda di stefano’s studio | casa museo boschi di stefano | milan, italy
salon style installation of works from the informale (informal) art movement
gino levi montalcini (1902-1974) | table | oak with ceramic top | 1950
room 11 | informal room | originally the master bedroom | casa museo boschi di stefano | milan, italy
aren’t the salon style art walls exceptional?
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