The Art of Restraint in Milanese Designs

Milan's innate knack for the elegantly understated yet judiciously decorative, and often playfully ironic, is rooted in the city's past—specifically during the Industrial Revolution—where the bourgeoisie were forging a new, modern aesthetic, one that bridged its heritage. This context served almost like a veneer of intellectual consideration to compensate for the bourgeoisie's fear of superficiality.

This aesthetic is not accidental. The balanced juxtaposition of understated and decorative elements, evident in styles like the Valsecchi Bugatti Palace and Villa Necchi, was studied and intentional. Pioneering minds, such as the architect Pierpaolo Portaluppi and the editor Ernesto Nathan Rogers, who played influential roles in establishing this aesthetic, have often emphasized the necessity of layering or connecting modern architecture and urban plans with the city's past. It is an aesthetic that evolved from a commitment to exacting restraint from anachronism. Italy's foundational past was the Renaissance, and thus, it was unsurprisingly both of them held high reverence for the Renaissance, and its distinct philosophy was present in their oeuvres. The concept of imposing tension in aesthetics was not new; it is one of Leonardo da Vinci's explored theories in depicting realism and perspectives in his paintings.

Cultivating discernment and an appreciation for this conflicting style—a rigid cohesion between modesty and opulence—and the flair for embracing tension, is the primary step into the reticent soul of Milan.

Accidental Minimalism

However, blending the understated and the playful can be challenging. For outsiders who are unaware of the historical contexts and motivations, trying to emulate the Milanese style is often more miss than hit; they either erringly formulate an aesthetic that is too starkly minimal or superficially kitschy. The essential principle of the aesthetic is found in conscious restraint: not too much nor too little, and ideally, evoking the Italian founding heritage—the Renaissance.

The architectural designs of Pierpaolo Portaluppi best illustrate this concept. His style, often categorized as Rationalist, was not simply about stripping away ornament. Instead, it adhered strictly to balancing three key elements: structure, symmetry, and dimension. No one element was ever permitted to overwhelm the other two. Portaluppi’s pursuit was to design utilitarian villas that boasted a timeless style, and this enduring quality came directly from his conscientious restraint in harmonizing those three components. He also often referenced the Renaissance in his designs, blending Renaissance motifs with modernist materials and forms to create a new narrative. An iconic style of his was his Renaissance-inspired coffered ceilings, executed in a modern manner, to create spatial depth. Portaluppi's approach is often mistaken for minimalism, when in reality it was a "layered architectural language," a conceptually restrained attempt to infuse the past with modern elegance.

The Renaissance Anchor

This devotion to a sophisticated art of restraint has its roots in the Renaissance. Like many other influential Milanese tastemakers, Portaluppi was a dedicated follower of the Italian Renaissance. He staunchly believed that the relevance of modern Italian design could only be enriched by infusing it with the cultural context, rationale, and philosophies of the past. In fact, his early work focused heavily on restoring Renaissance buildings, such as Casa degli Atellani and Ospedale Maggiore, grounding his modernist vision in a historical context.

It is no surprise that modern Milanese thinkers and creators are continuously drawn back to the Renaissance. It was in Milan (1482–1499) that Leonardo da Vinci—who proudly signed off as the "disciple of experience"—spent one of his most prolific periods. Da Vinci approached painting with a holistic perspective, combining scientific theory and naturalistic observation. He also emphasized the depiction of "tension" (notably evident in his paintings of the Madonna and Child) as a crucial element in his theory of perspective. The art of restraint, achieved by balancing the tension between different facets of a design or aesthetic, is indeed an enduring legacy in Milan.

Restraint as Insight

The Milanese Art of Restraint is therefore not a discipline of holding back; it is an insightful approach to creativity and a valuable mind shift for solving complex problems. As much as we love the freedom in our creative processes, the discipline of holding back is actually the most insightful approach—it forces us to synthesize. The rigorous process involves synthesizing multifaceted insights and complex elements into a cohesive, seemingly simple whole.

To hone the aptitude for the art of restraint and managing tension, one must first cultivate two essential qualities:

• An Expansive View (The Prerequisite): To achieve such restraint, one must possess a holistic or expansive view of the subject—whether it’s architecture, fashion, or life itself. You must see the structure, symmetry, and dimension (or history, material, and context) before you can distill them. What is there to restrain without fully understanding the whole?

• A Huge Appetite for Experimentation (The Method): True restraint is not achieved by playing it safe, but by experimenting relentlessly until the exact point of perfect balance is found.

This approach transforms design and problem-solving from a matter of adding elements into a matter of intellect, making every choice a reflection of wisdom and purpose.