Pierre Disderot On Sale

The workshop of prolific designer Pierre Disderot was the birthplace of modern French lighting. The mid-century modern table lamps, floor lamps and wall lights that resulted from his collaborations with major names in design influenced lighting in the decades that followed.

Disderot was born in Paris in 1920. He studied engineering, but was drawn to design and architecture. He subsequently enrolled at L'École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs and École Boulle, where he was inspired by the Scandinavian lighting designers of the 1940s. In 1948, he established his own manufacturing company, Atelier Pierre Disderot, in the Parisian suburb of Cachan.

In the early 1950s, Disderot met Pierre Guariche and Michel Mortier, two up-and-coming French designers. Together, the three luminaries launched a series of lighting fixtures featuring an updated modern style. Disderot, who had a knack for surrounding himself with the best, also established partnerships with Jacques Dumond, Joseph-André Motte, Pierre Gautier-Delaye, Pierre Paulin, Bernard Durussel and Roger Fatus.

Postwar exuberance marked the 1950s in France. Disderot’s studio reflected this attitude, creating designs that were more organic and colorful, with articulated pivots and arms for increased functionality and style. His openness to collaboration, and his willingness to provide designers with the tools and technology they needed, spurred both technical and aesthetic innovation in lighting.

In the 1960s, the growing company relocated to a large warehouse in Choisy-le-Roi. By this time, Disderot was taking orders from architects and interior designers as well as public commissions for buildings like Orly airport. He began buying licenses for products on the cutting edge of design, such as the Rotaflex line of chic, beehive-style lighting fixtures.

After more than three successful decades, Disderot sold his company in 1984 to focus on teaching and union activities. He died in 1991.

The company he started remains in operation today under the name Disderot, which continues to release updated models of fixtures from the 1950s through the 1970s.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of Pierre Disderot lighting.

The right table lamp, outwardly sculptural chandelier or understated wall pendant can work wonders for your home. While we’re indebted to thinkers like Thomas Edison for critically important advancements in lighting and electricity, we’re still finding new ways to customize illumination to fit our personal spaces all these years later. A wide range of antique and vintage lighting can be found on 1stDibs.

Today, lighting designers like the self-taught Bec Brittain have used the flexible structure of LEDs to craft glamorous solutions by working with what is typically considered a harsh lighting source. By integrating glass and mirrors, reflection can be used to soften the glow from LEDs and warmly welcome light into any space.

Although contemporary innovators continue to impress, some of the classics can’t be beat. 

Just as gazing at the stars allows you to glimpse the universe’s past, vintage chandeliers like those designed by Gino Sarfatti and J. & L. Lobmeyr, for example, put on a similarly stunning show, each with a rich story to tell.

As dazzling as it is, the Arco lamp, on the other hand, prioritizes functionality — it’s wholly mobile, no drilling required. Designed in 1962 by architect-product designers Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, the piece takes the traditional form of a streetlamp and creates an elegant, arching floor fixture for at-home use.

There is no shortage of modernist lighting similarly prized by collectors and casual enthusiasts alike — there are Art Deco table lamps created in a universally appreciated style, the Tripod floor lamp by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Greta Magnusson Grossman's sleek and minimalist Grasshopper lamps and, of course, the wealth of mid-century experimental lighting that emerged from Italian artisans at Arredoluce, FLOS and many more are hallmarks in illumination innovation. 

With decades of design evolution behind it, home lighting is no longer just practical. Crystalline shaping by designers like Gabriel Scott turns every lighting apparatus into a luxury accessory. A new installation doesn’t merely showcase a space; carefully chosen ceiling lights, table lamps and floor lamps can create a mood, spotlight a favorite piece or highlight your unique personality.

The sparkle that your space has been missing is waiting for you amid the growing collection of antique, vintage and contemporary lighting for sale on 1stDibs.