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Arteluce

Italian

The lighting maker Arteluce was one of the companies at the heart of the creative explosion in postwar Italian design. The firm’s founder and guiding spirit, Gino Sarfatti (1912–85), was an incessant technical and stylistic innovator who almost single-handedly reinvented the chandelier as a modernist lighting form. 

Sarfatti attended the University of Genoa to study aeronautical engineering but was forced to drop out when his father’s company went out of business. His mechanical instincts led him to turn his attention to lighting design — and he founded Arteluce as a small workshop in Milan in 1939. Sarfatti’s father was a Jew, so the family fled to Switzerland in 1943, but after the war — largely thanks to Sarfatti’s insistence on efficiency of design and manufacture — Arteluce quickly established itself as a top firm.

Though Sarfatti continued as chief designer through the 1950s and ’60s, he also enlisted other designers such as Franco Albini and Massimo Vignelli to contribute work. Sarfatti sold Arteluce to FLOS — a rival Italian lighting maker — in 1973 and retired to pursue a more traditional avocation: collecting and dealing rare postage stamps. 

Sarfatti is regarded by many collectors as a pioneer of minimalist design. He pared down his lighting works to their essentials, focusing on practical aspects such as flexibility of use. His most famous light, the 2097 chandelier, is a brilliant example of reductive modernist design, featuring a central cylinder from which branches numerous supporting fixtures extending like spokes on a wheel.

Similarly, Sarfatti's 566 table lamp is a simple canister, able to be raised or lowered on a stem, holding a half-chrome bulb. Despite the marked functionality of his designs, Sarfatti did have a sprightly side: His 534 table lamp, with its cluster of rounded enameled shades, resembles a vase full of flowers, the Sputnik chandelier (model 2003) was inspired by fireworks and the brightly colored plastic disks of the 2072 chandelier look like lollipops. No matter the style, Sarfatti concentrated first and foremost on the character of light created — and any Arteluce lamp is a modernist masterpiece.

Find vintage Arteluce table lamps, chandeliers, floor lamps and other lighting on 1stDibs.

Average Sold Price
$2,617
Styles
Materials
Related Creators
Italian Postmodern Geco 1 Indoor and Outdoor Wall Lamp for Arteluce, 1990s
By Luciano Pagani, Arteluce
Located in Hamburg, DE
Italian Postmodern Geco 1 Indoor and Outdoor Wall Lamp by Luciano Pagani and Angelo Perversi for Arteluce, 1990s Wall or ceiling lights from the italian manufacturer arteluce/flos a...
Category

20th Century Italian Post-Modern Arteluce

Materials

Metal

Postmodern Italian Geco 2 Indoor and Outdoor Wall Lamp Sconce, 1990s
By Arteluce
Located in Hamburg, DE
Postmodern Italian Geco 2 Indoor and Outdoor Wall Lamp Sconce by Luciano Pagani and Angelo Perversi for Arteluce, 1990s Wall or ceiling lights from the italian manufacturer arteluce...
Category

20th Century Italian Post-Modern Arteluce

Materials

Metal

Modell 2133 Ceiling Lamp by Gino Sarfatti for Arteluce, 1972
By Gino Sarfatti, Arteluce
Located in Hagenbach, DE
This stunning Model 2133 pendant light duo by Gino Sarfatti for Arteluce (1972). It is a masterful study in minimalist design—a fluted white lacquered aluminum disc, suspended effort...
Category

1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arteluce

Materials

Metal

Large 1950s Gino Sarfatti Model #155 Ceiling Lamp for Arteluce
By Arteluce, Gino Sarfatti
Located in Glendale, CA
Large 1950s Gino Sarfatti Model #155 Ceiling Lamp for Arteluce. Executed in a perforated brass dome mounted on a white painted curved metal plate with patinated metal detail on the ...
Category

1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arteluce

Materials

Metal, Brass

Rare Arteluce Acrylic Glass Chandelier, Italy, 1970s
By Arteluce
Located in Hagenbach, DE
This extraordinary chandelier by the renowned Italian lighting manufacturer Arteluce is a true collector’s piece and a striking example of 1970s Space Age design. With its sculptural...
Category

1970s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Arteluce

Materials

Metal

Postmodern Italian Model PAO T1 Table Lamp by Matteo Thun for Arteluce, 1990s
By Arteluce
Located in Hamburg, DE
The small T1 table light version from the Pao light series by Matteo Thun. The Pao shines impress with their characteristic diffuser made of matt glass. However, the material combin...
Category

20th Century Italian Post-Modern Arteluce

Materials

Glass, Wood

Massimo Vignelli for Arteluce Pair of '259/2' Wall Lights
By Massimo Vignelli, Arteluce
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Massimo Vignelli for Arteluce, pair of '259/2' wall lights, aluminum, fabric, Italy, 1964 In the 259/2 wall lights, designed by Massimo Vignelli for Arteluce in 1964, the interplay...
Category

1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arteluce

Materials

Aluminum

Massimo Vignelli for Arteluce Pair of '259/2' Wall Lights
Massimo Vignelli for Arteluce Pair of '259/2' Wall Lights
$12,700 / set
H 17.33 in W 17.33 in D 10.24 in
Gino Sarfatti Wall Lamp Sconce for Arteluce, Italy 1950s
By Gino Sarfatti, Arteluce
Located in Roma, IT
Spectacular and iconic sconce designed by Gino Sarfatti and Archimede Seguso and produced by Arteluce in Italy during the 1950s. This incredibly elegant and unique sconce is in fabu...
Category

1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Arteluce

Materials

Steel, Chrome

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Arteluce Sale Prices

Sold DateSold PriceCategoryMaterialCreation Year
2025$1,332Chandeliers and PendantsAcrylic, Metal, Brass1950s
2025$320Wall Lights and SconcesSteel, Glass1980
2025$6,100Floor LampsLeather, Chrome, Marbleunknown
2025$1,866Chandeliers and PendantsMetal, Brass, AluminumContemporary
2025$2,963Flush Mount, Chandeliers and PendantsMetal, BrassContemporary
2025$1,620Chandeliers and Pendants, Flush MountBrass, MetalContemporary
2025$3,600Wall Lights and SconcesMetal, Brass1950s
2025$1,956Wall Lights and Sconces, More LightingBrass, Enamel, Walnut, AluminumContemporary
2025$990Wall Lights and SconcesMetal, Brass, PaintContemporary
2025$2,100Chandeliers and PendantsGlass, Plexiglass1963
2025$2,550Table LampsAluminum1960
2025$3,360Wall Lights and SconcesAluminum, Brass1950s
2025$2,225Flush Mount, Chandeliers and PendantsMetal, BrassContemporary
2025$1,220Table LampsBrass, Metal, WoodContemporary
2025$1,100Table LampsMetal, Woodcirca 1950s
2025$6,460Wall Lights and SconcesMetal, Brass1950s
2025$2,164Chandeliers and PendantsMetal, Aluminum, Brass2018
2025$580Table LampsAluminum, Acrylic1968
2025$1,080Chandeliers and Pendants, Flush MountBrass, MetalContemporary
2025$1,015Wall Lights and SconcesBrass, Bronze, Enamel, Nickel2021
$2,617
Average sold price of items in the past 12 months
$172-$20,389
Sold price range of items in the past 12 months

Creators Similar to Arteluce

Arteluce furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Arteluce furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Arteluce furniture, although black editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by Arteluce were created in the mid-century modern style in europe during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Gae Aulenti, and Ercole Barovier. Prices for Arteluce furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $167 and can go as high as $222,496, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $3,774.

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