BOOK CLUB vol. 6: Gae Aulenti's Milano Nest
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It seems that Gae Auelenti is always somewhere in my periphery. She’s a designer who I reference (often!) in direct and indirect ways—whether I am searching for vintage homewares at an antique market, writing about something nostalgic, or describing my dream-home situation.
Even as a kid, I designed quite a few imaginary spaces for my future self. One of these faux homes had an industrial bridge way between rooms, a floor-to-ceiling book situation (the topics of interest at the time were: animals, interiors, fashion, and crafts), and a smattering of sentimental objects. Little-me would have just about died over Gae’s house, but it took about 15 more years for me to learn about it.
The first time I was met with the sight of Aulenti’s home was in Leslie Williamson’s book Modern Originals: At Home with Midcentury European Designers. I met Leslie many times while I was living in San Francisco (my then-boss shared an Eichler home with her) and at the time, I was anticipating this second volume of her book series in an almost feral way. With that same energy, I opened the finally-published book and immediately fawned over every single featured residence. I love private looks into intimate corners, kitchens, and libraries. These snapshots of Aulenti’s treasured rooms were/are hypnotic.
Let’s take a close look at the subjects on her bookshelves!
Books written about a small sample of artists/designers/architects who are featured in Gae Aulenti’s book collection*:
El Lissitzky on Paper: Print Culture, Architecture, Politics, 1919-1933 by Samuel Johnson
MAX ERNST 1950-1970: The Return of La Belle Jardiniere By Werner Spies
Lequeu: An Architectural Engima by Philippe Duboy
The Paintings and Sketches of Louis I. Kahn by Jan Hochsti
DÉGAS- The Taste of Our Time by Francois Fosca
Arcimboldo: 1526-1593 by Sylvia Ferino-Pagden
*I have searched far and wide for close-up details of the books in her home, but these photos don’t seem to exist! Book titles are too blurry to read individually, which is a shame. I was able to read some artist/designer/architect names, and from there, the above list was born.
Five readings I would recommend to her admirers:
Boxed Set: Invisible Cities, If on a winter’s night a traveler, and The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino
Expressionist Architecture in Drawings by Wolfgang Pehnt
Marella Agnelli: The Last Swan by M. Chai
Fernand Léger 1984 Exhibition Catalog, by the Sidney Janis Gallery Vintage
Vintage 1990 Fontana Arte Italian Lighting Catalog featuring Gio Ponti, Ingrand, and Aulenti herself
Gae in her Sgarsul Rocking Chair, a design of hers from the early 1960s.
Related Notes:
“Before Futurism reached full swing, Milan was taking its fledgling steps towards becoming a mini-metropolis,” began Wallpaper about Aulenti’s ties to Salone.
While creating my own 1stDibs recreation of one of my favorite interior design-themed toys from my childhood, I was SO tempted to put Aulenti’s Locus Solos chairs in the mix.
We can’t mention Milan without visiting the charming Gio Ponti too. I wrote about an architectural marvel of his in Venezuela, but the real Ponti gold mine exists scattered around the Italian city. These are on my visiting bucket list, without a doubt!
One more Aulenti interior worth drooling over:
**
Happy reading! Buona lettura!
Kelsey Rose
PS - A number of these books above are linked to Bookshop.org, which is my absolute favorite place to buy books online. Bookshop.org works to connect readers with independent booksellers and stores all over the world. Since 2020, they’ve raised more than $28 million for independent bookstores—which is 28 million times better than supporting Amazon. You can see/shop my Bookshop here! I do get a teeny, tiny commission off of every book sale purchased directly from these links or from my Bookshop store front. I’ll only link books if I honestly believe in their goodness.