Image source: Cassina — Cassina iMaestri Collection
© Cassina and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
Collection Story
Origin
iMaestri is the name Cassina gives to its re-editions of classic 20th-century furniture. Cassina's page says the collection came from a method the company has followed since 1973, reinterpreting historic designs with respect for their authenticity and culture; it presents the collection as officially introduced 50 years ago, with a process that began in 1965 when the first four models of the three authors Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand went into mass production.
Design Language
The authors named on the page are Giacomo Balla, Ico Parisi, Marco Zanuso, Le Corbusier, Franco Albini, Charlotte Perriand, Erik Gunnar Asplund, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Gerrit Thomas Rietveld. In 2023, for the 50th anniversary, Vico Magistretti, Gio Ponti and Carlo Scarpa were brought in, and Charles and Ray Eames joined ahead of the launch of their lighting collection in 2024.
Key Pieces
- Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand: the 4 chaise longue, the 1 tilting-back armchair and the 2 Grand Confort three-seat sofa (small model)
- Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret: the 20 Casiers standard P.E.N.
- Le Corbusier: LC16 Table de travail
- Charlotte Perriand: Plana, Accordo
- Gerrit Thomas Rietveld: Red and Blue, Zig Zag
- Charles Rennie Mackintosh: Hill House 1; Erik Gunnar Asplund: Göteborg 1
- Franco Albini: Cavalletto; Marco Zanuso: Antropus
- Gio Ponti: 699 Superleggera, Principi
- Vico Magistretti: 905, Maralunga; Carlo Scarpa: Cornaro Armchair
- Charles and Ray Eames: Galaxy
Pieces in this collection
Indochine Chaise Longue
Perriand's armrest chaise longue, designed in Vietnam in 1943, in painted tubular steel.
Cicognino Table
Franco Albini's three-legged "little stork" table, 1953, with one leg rising into a handle.
Mexique Stool
Charlotte Perriand's three-legged Mexique stool in solid wood, at 45 cm and 72 cm high.
Mexique Low Table
Charlotte Perriand's low Mexique table of 1956: 118 x 80 cm, oak or walnut top, metal legs.
Tabouret Berger
Charlotte Perriand's 1953 low three-legged table-stool in solid oak or American walnut.
Tokyo Chaise Longue
Perriand's 1940 bamboo chaise longue of twelve curved strips, re-issued in bamboo or teak.
Ombra Tokyo Chair
Perriand's stackable chair from one folded, curved sheet of oak plywood, first shown in 1953.
LC16 Wood Desk
Oak writing desk with shelving unit by Le Corbusier, for the children's rooms of Nantes-Rezé.
Plana Coffee Table
Charlotte Perriand's thick-topped Plana coffee table of 1969, in oak, walnut or lacquer.
Principi Chair
Ash chair by Gio Ponti, 1964, with a diamond-cut backrest and upholstered seat; Cassina.
Cavalletto Table
Franco Albini's 1950 trestle table: ash or walnut frame braced by two burnished brass rods.
Doron Hotel Armchair
Charlotte Perriand's 1947 armchair for a Méribel chalet-hotel: ash or walnut frame, saddle leather.
Infinito Bookcase
Free-standing double-sided bookcase by Franco Albini, 1956-57, on floor-to-ceiling uprights.
Doron Hotel Outdoor
Doron Hotel Outdoor: Charlotte Perriand's 1947 armchair in a solid teak outdoor version for Cassina.
699 Superleggera
Gio Ponti's 1957 ash chair with 18 mm triangular legs and a hand-woven or upholstered seat.
905 Chair
Solid wood and saddle-leather chair by Vico Magistretti, 1964, relaunched by Cassina.
Accordo Low Table
Charlotte Perriand's sculptural lacquered low table, designed for her 1985 retrospective in Paris.
Leggera Chair
Wood chair and armchair by Gio Ponti, 1952, with an upholstered seat; made by Cassina.
Göteborg 1 Chair
Asplund's solid ash chair for the Göteborg Town Hall extension; Cassina production year 1983.
Guéridon J.M. Low Table
Perriand's stackable low table of 1953, inspired by a Japanese tray; saddle leather on fibreglass.
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