Formis

A family-run business founded by Franco Iacobelli, since ***5 formis has been recreating antique prints whose accuracy to the originals results in exquisite and prestigious artistic creations.
These beautiful and interesting subjects are important for the historical and geographical information they offer.
They embrace various historical periods in which mans evolution has enabled him to widen his horizons by learning more and more about the surrounding environment, its representation and measurements.
These works also have a remarkable esthetic effect making them perfect for homes and offices where they may be admired  and be the subject of interesting conversation.
The entire catalog includes items of various types, from large world maps to maps and views of cities, which, besides the traditional frame, can be hung as tapestries.
The accuracy in the production of these works is not simply a slogan.
In order to create and make available items of such elegance and beauty, naturally the same techniques and the same materials employed at the time had to be used.
The printing of many subjects employs the use of copper plates upon a manual press thus producing one of the main characteristics of our work: engraving.
The final result allows us to feel with our fingers the texture of the material, follow the lines, writings and figures that make up the actual work.
The drawing is transferred onto a support of **0% pure cotton of the correct weight, which gives the work softness and suppleness which are truly unique.
In order to recreate the atmosphere and allure of the works of art of the past, the paper was aged by hand, one sheet at a time, by a process which uses strictly organic substances.
This process, too, tends to make each engraving different from the others, because this method is not, and never will be, uniform and invariable.
Next, the paper is cut and anchored to a canvas backing, this too made of pure cotton, which is skillfully aged using the same technique as that used for the paper support.
This process allows the works to be folded easily and thus can be better preserved.
The last *- but no less important *- step is the coloring with watercolors, done by experts, which gives the paper that polychrome appearance with its undoubted scenic effect.
Naturally, the colors to be used are chosen in consideration of the original colors and also the changes which the watercolors of the original artists have undergone over the centuries, obtaining a result that can give the enjoyable feeling of reliving a long ago past.
The primary objective of the entire operation is to create a product which is once again rendered in its original beauty and which has regained its historical-cultural value.
Passion, sound principles and maximum attention to detail are the values that define the reliability of formis: from the founder Franco Iacobelli to his son Alessandro, this artisan company pursue the highest quality combined with the most authentic Made in Italy.