Vico Magistretti Red
Vintage 1960s Futurist Table Lamps
Plastic
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Benches
Straw, Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Space Age Chairs
Plastic
Vintage 1970s Italian Space Age Armchairs
Fiberglass
1990s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century Unknown Space Age Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Beech, Plywood
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Hardwood
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Sectional Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Plastic, Rubber
Early 2000s European Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Plastic, Rubber
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Straw, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Rush, Beech
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Tables
Plastic
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Straw, Beech
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Beech, Plywood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Beech, Plywood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Beech, Plywood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Beech, Plywood
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Straw, Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Modern Living Room Sets
Plastic
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Plastic
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Italian Space Age Table Lamps
Plastic
Vintage 1970s European Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Plastic
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Plastic
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Rush, Rope, Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Plastic
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Straw, Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Straw, Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Straw, Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Straw, Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
Plastic
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Straw, Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Space Age Dining Room Tables
Plastic
Vintage 1970s Italian Space Age Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Plastic
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Plastic
Late 20th Century Armchairs
Leather
Vintage 1950s Chairs
Straw, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Tables
Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Plastic
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Enamel, Steel
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Plastic
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Plastic
Vintage 1960s French Post-Modern Table Lamps
ABS
Vintage 1970s Italian Chairs
Plastic
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Rush, Beech
Vintage 1970s Italian Lounge Chairs
Plastic
Vintage 1960s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
Plastic, Acrylic
Vintage 1970s Italian Armchairs
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Plastic
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Fiberglass
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Rush, Wood
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Vico Magistretti Red For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Vico Magistretti Red?
Vico Magistretti for sale on 1stDibs
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.