Find many varieties of an authentic vico magistretti for artemide available at 1stDibs. Each vico magistretti for artemide for sale was constructed with extraordinary care, often using
metal,
plastic and
glass. Find 122 options for an antique or vintage vico magistretti for artemide now, or shop our selection of 3 modern versions for a more contemporary example of this long-cherished piece. Your living room may not be complete without a vico magistretti for artemide — find older editions for sale from the 20th Century and newer versions made as recently as the 21st Century. When you’re browsing for the right vico magistretti for artemide, those designed in
Mid-Century Modern and
Modern styles are of considerable interest.
Prices for a vico magistretti for artemide can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — at 1stDibs, they begin at $245 and can go as high as $18,400, while the average can fetch as much as $1,899.
As one of the founding fathers of modern Italian design, prolific architect and industrial designer Ludovico Magistretti (known by his nickname Vico) was guided by his philosophy, “There is no excuse for bad design.” His architectural projects are widely revered, and an ingenious meld of form and function can be found in his stylish and deceptively simple table lamps, sofas, armchairs and other mid-century furnishings.
Born in Milan, Magistretti followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather (both architects) to study architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan. At the outbreak of World War II, he fled to Switzerland, and it was there he met his role model and mentor, renowned humanist architect Ernesto Nathan Rogers. Magistretti was inspired by Rogers’s vision to revive postwar Italy, and they collaborated on several reconstruction projects. Among Magistretti’s first architectural designs is a “poetic” round church, which he created for the QT8, an experimental Milanese neighborhood.
When Magistretti returned to Milan in 1945, he worked at his father’s architectural firm. It wasn’t until the early 1950s that he expanded his talents into design while working with furniture artisans.
In the 1960s, Magistretti began his 30-year working relationship with famed entrepreneur Cesare Cassina of the Cassina furniture manufacturing company. In their design approach, the two men shared a vision of the relationship between modernity and tradition and enjoyed a close bond (Magistretti designed Cassina’s luxurious villa in 1965). However, their friendship was not without contention.
Legend has it that upon seeing the prototype for Magistretti’s Maralunga sofa, Cassina hated it so much that he punched it, breaking the back of the sofa, which crumpled into itself.
“Right, great, it looks perfect to me like that,” an unfazed Magistretti allegedly responded, and the Maralunga’s slumped, adjustable-height backrest was born. Incidentally, the Maralunga sofa won Italy’s Compasso d’Oro award as did his Eclisse lamp for Artemide and his Atollo lamp for Oluce.
Magistretti died in 2006, but his designs live on in galleries, museums and private residences and offices around the world.
Find a range of vintage Vico Magistretti furniture and lighting on 1stDibs.