COFFEE TABLE WITH STEEL FRAME AND WILLY RIZZO STRETCHED SKIN

Steel-framed coffee table with a central square top and two overhanging arcs, with an intermediate top in stretched skin topped by a second top in transparent smoked glass. Willy Rizzo (1928-2013) began his career in Paris, photographing stars and starlets for "Ciné Mondial", "Point de Vue" and then "Images du Monde". He covered the Nuremberg Trials and made major reports, notably in Tunisia on the Mareth Line. In 1947, the English agency Blackstar sent him to the United States to "photograph what amazes him": from a $1 machine dispensing nylons to cinema drive-ins. But he prefers women and fashion, and settles in Los Angeles. Max Corre, with whom he had collaborated on France Dimanche, called to tell him that Jean Prouvost was setting up a major magazine in Paris, so he returned and met Hervé Mille. This was the start of the Paris Match adventure. In 1959, Rizzo became artistic director of Marie-Claire and worked with the leading fashion magazines, including Vogue, where Alex Liberman asked him to work "with his eye". In 1968, he moved to Rome and began designing for his own personal needs, since, in his opinion, "antique or Scandinavian furniture was neither comfortable nor simple enough". In response to demand, he set up his own workshops. But in the late 70s, the fall of Cinecitta and the rise of terrorism put an end to his Roman era. Willy sold his business and relocated to Paris, where he continued to draw and practice photography until his death in 2013.