Gae Aulenti Arcata
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Living Room Sets
Leather, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Armchairs
Leather, Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Leather, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Walnut
Recent Sales
Vintage 1960s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary American Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood
2010s South African Minimalist Night Stands
Wood
2010s South African Minimalist Pedestals
Burl, Poplar, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass, Nickel, Enamel, Bronze
2010s Slipper Chairs
Velvet
2010s British Mid-Century Modern Daybeds
Bouclé, Oak
2010s South African Minimalist Pedestals
Hardwood
2010s British Scandinavian Modern Tables
Mohair, Oak
Vintage 1970s Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Scandinavian Modern Wall Lights an...
Metal
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Night Stands
Marble
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Metal
2010s Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Stone, Limestone, Travertine, Marble
Gae Aulenti Arcata For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Gae Aulenti Arcata?
Gae Aulenti for sale on 1stDibs
The Italian architect and designer Gae Aulenti will forever be best remembered for her work with museums, in particular her 1980–86 renovation of a Beaux Arts Paris train station to create the galleries of the Musée d’Orsay. Aulenti — whose first name, short for Gaetana, is pronounced “guy” — should also be recalled for her tough intellectual spirit and for working steadily when few women found successful architectural careers in postwar Italy.
After she graduated from the Milan Polytechic in 1954, Aulenti opened an architectural office. She also joined the staff of the progressive architectural magazine Casabella, whose editorial line was that the establishment, orthodox modernism of Le Corbusier and the Bauhaus, had outlived it usefulness. When their movement for fresh approaches to architecture and design received a sympathetic hearing, Aulenti found patrons — most prominently Gianni Agnelli, of Fiat, who later employed her to renovate the Palazzo Grassi in Venice for use as an arts exhibition space.
Commissions for showrooms and other corporate spaces brought Aulenti to furniture design. She felt that furniture should never dominate a room. Her chairs and sofas — low-slung, with rounded enameled metal frames and ample seats — and tables, particularly her 1972 marble Jumbo coffee table for Knoll, project solidity and sturdiness. In lighting design, however, Aulenti is bravura.
Each work has a marvelous sculptural presence. Pieces such as her Pipistrello table lamp and Quadrifoglio pendant are a perfect marriage of organically shaped glass and high-tech fixtures. Others have a futuristic elegance — and some even have a touch of personality. Aulenti’s Pileino and La Ruspa table lamps each look almost like little robots. Her lighting pieces are an artful grace note in the career of a woman who believed in strength.
Find vintage Gae Aulenti armchairs, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Finding the Right Seating for You
With entire areas of our homes reserved for “sitting rooms,” the value of quality antique and vintage seating cannot be overstated.
Fortunately, the design of side chairs, armchairs and other lounge furniture — since what were, quite literally, the early perches of our ancestors — has evolved considerably.
Among the earliest standard seating furniture were stools. Egyptian stools, for example, designed for one person with no seat back, were x-shaped and typically folded to be tucked away. These rudimentary chairs informed the design of Greek and Roman stools, all of which were a long way from Sori Yanagi's Butterfly stool or Alvar Aalto's Stool 60. In the 18th century and earlier, seats with backs and armrests were largely reserved for high nobility.
The seating of today is more inclusive but the style and placement of chairs can still make a statement. Antique desk chairs and armchairs designed in the style of Louis XV, which eventually included painted furniture and were often made of rare woods, feature prominently curved legs as well as Chinese themes and varied ornaments. Much like the thrones of fairy tales and the regency, elegant lounges crafted in the Louis XV style convey wealth and prestige. In the kitchen, the dining chair placed at the head of the table is typically reserved for the head of the household or a revered guest.
Of course, with luxurious vintage or antique furnishings, every chair can seem like the best seat in the house. Whether your preference is stretching out on a plush sofa, such as the Serpentine, designed by Vladimir Kagan, or cozying up in a vintage wingback chair, there is likely to be a comfy classic or contemporary gem for you on 1stDibs.
With respect to the latest obsessions in design, cane seating has been cropping up everywhere, from sleek armchairs to lounge chairs, while bouclé fabric, a staple of modern furniture design, can be seen in mid-century modern, Scandinavian modern and Hollywood Regency furniture styles.
Admirers of the sophisticated craftsmanship and dark woods frequently associated with mid-century modern seating can find timeless furnishings in our expansive collection of lounge chairs, dining chairs and other items — whether they’re vintage editions or alluring official reproductions of iconic designs from the likes of Hans Wegner or from Charles and Ray Eames. Shop our inventory of Egg chairs, designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, the Florence Knoll lounge chair and more.
No matter your style, the collection of unique chairs, sofas and other seating on 1stDibs is surely worthy of a standing ovation.