Gino Sarfatti for Arteluce. 9-light floor lamp. 1960s.

Gino Sarfatti for Arteluce

Space-age style floor lamp featuring 9 white opaline light globes, with a chrome-plated metal shaft, ring around the globes, and round cream-colored base.

Dimensions: H 122 x W 122 x D 122 x Base D 28 cm

Italian work realized in the 1960s.

Reference: LS6877909M

Gino Sarfatti (1912–1985) was an Italian designer and industrialist. He is considered one of the greatest lighting designers of the 20th century. After studying aerospace engineering at the University of Genoa, he was forced to abandon his studies and work as a glassware salesman in Milan. This is what sparked his interest in lamp design. In 1939, he founded the company Arteluce, specializing in lighting, in Milan. Following World War II and the bombing of Milan, he fled to Switzerland. He returned to reorganize Arteluce after the liberation. To make a clean break from fascism and rebuild Italy, he partnered with architects of the Rationalist movement. His designs would go on to win numerous awards, such as the models 1063 and 1065, which received the “Grand Prix” at the 10th Triennale, and model 559, which won the Compasso d’Oro in 1954.

Arteluce is a lighting company founded in 1939 by Gino Sarfatti. When Gino Sarfatti left for a trip to the United States, he entrusted the artistic direction to Vittorio Vigano. In 1953, following the arrival of Marco Zanuso, Arteluce began to attract international attention. In the company’s early days, production was artisanal, and very few units of each model were sold—between 15 and 30, depending on the model. In 1973, Arteluce was acquired by Flos, which reissued the models created by Gino Sarfatti, as is the case with this chandelier.

Source: Romanelli Marco, Sandra Severi, Gino Sarfatti, opere scelte 1938-1973 selected works, SilvanaEditoriale, pp. 202-203