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Fontana Arte

Best known for its elegant and innovative vintage lighting fixtures, the Milan-based firm Fontana Arte pioneered one of the key features of 20th-century and contemporary Italian design: the union of artistry and industry wrought by partnerships between creative talents — chiefly architects — and entrepreneurial businesses. Fontana Arte is further distinguished by having had as artistic director, in succession, four of Italy’s most inventive modernist designers: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, French transplant Max Ingrand and Gae Aulenti.

The bread and butter of the glassmaking company that Luigi Fontana founded in 1881 was plate-glass panels for the construction industry. In 1930, Fontana met Ponti — then the artistic director of the Richard Ginori ceramics workshop and the editor of the influential magazine Domus — at a biannual design exhibition that became the precursor to today’s Milan Design Triennale, and the two hatched an idea for a furniture and housewares firm. Fontana Arte was incorporated in 1932 with Ponti as its chief of design. He contributed several lamps that remain among the company’s signature works, including the orb-atop-cone Bilia table lamp and the 0024 pendant — a stratified hanging sphere.

The following year, Fontana Arte partnered with the influential Milan studio glassmaker and retailer Pietro Chiesa, who took over as artistic director. Chiesa’s designs for lighting — as well as for tables and items including vases and ashtrays — express an appreciation for fluidity and simplicity of line, as seen in works such as his flute-shaped Luminator floor lamp and the 1932 Fontana table — an arched sheet of glass that is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

Six years after Chiesa’s 1948 death, the École des Beaux Arts–trained Max Ingrand took over as head of design at Fontana Arte. Ingrand brought a similarly expressive formal sensibility to wares such as lamps and mirrors, but he also had a masterful eye for the manipulation of glass surfaces — whether they be cut, frosted, acid-etched or sand-blasted. His classic design is the Fontana table lamp of 1954, which has a truncated cone shade and curved body, both of which are made of pure, chic white-frosted glass.

Following Ingrand, the often-audacious Italian architect Gae Aulenti served as the company’s artistic director from 1979 to 1996, and while she generally insisted that furnishings take second place aesthetically to architecture, she made an exception for Fontana Arte pieces such as the Tavolo con Ruote series of glass coffee and dining tables on wheels, bold lighting pieces such as the Parola series and the Giova, a combination flower vase and table lamp. As a key incubator of modern design under Aulenti’s tenure, Fontana Arte remained true to its long-held commitment — creating objects that have never been less than daring.

Find vintage Fontana Arte lighting fixtures such as pendants, table lamps and more on 1stDibs.

Average Sold Price
$4,248
Styles
Materials
Related Creators
Studio Buratti 'Tropico' White Marble & Glass Table Lamp for Fontana Arte
By Fontana Arte, Oscar e Gabriele Buratti
Located in Glendale, CA
Studio Buratti 'Tropico' white marble & glass table lamp for Fontana Arte. Executed in high quality marble, thick etched hand blown opaline glass and galvanized gold colored metal....
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Fontana Arte

Materials

Marble, Metal

Sconces by Gianni Celada for Fontana Arte
By Fontana Arte, Gianni Celada
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sconces by Gianni Celada for Fontana Arte. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa 1970s. Chrome quarter domed bodies, paired with thick cut glass diffusers. Wired for U.S. standar...
Category

1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Fontana Arte

Materials

Brass, Chrome

Studio Buratti 'Tropico' Black Marble & Glass Table Lamp for Fontana Arte
By Fontana Arte, Oscar e Gabriele Buratti
Located in Glendale, CA
Studio Buratti 'Tropico' black marble & glass table lamp for Fontana Arte. Executed in high quality marble, thick etched hand blown opaline glass and galvanized glossy black metal....
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Fontana Arte

Materials

Marble, Metal

Equatore SmallTable Lamp Designed by Gabriele & Oscar Buratti for Fontana Arte
By Oscar e Gabriele Buratti, Fontana Arte
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"Equatore" is a small table lamp, designed by Gabriele & Oscar Buratti and manufactured by Fontana Arte, made in glass and metal and is part of a collection including table, floor an...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Fontana Arte

Materials

Metal

Pangen Suspension Lamp by Fontana Arte
By Fontana Arte
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This lampshade is a fluid, minimal dome shape, its lacquer finish and modern colors ensuring surprising lighting. Suspension lamp. Body in white painted aluminium BI (RAL 9003 gloss), black N (RAL 9005 gloss), red R (RAL 3004...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Fontana Arte

Materials

Aluminum

Gio Ponti 'Bilia' Table Lamp in Brass for Fontana Arte
By Gio Ponti, Fontana Arte
Located in Glendale, CA
Gio Ponti 'Bilia' table lamp in brass for Fontana Arte. Executed in a brushed brass metal frame with a mouth blown white glass diffuser, transparent cord with dimmer and plug. One of...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Fontana Arte

Materials

Brass

Model 1939 Wall or Ceiling Light by Fontana Arte
By Fontana Arte
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Model 1939 Wall or Ceiling Light by Fontana Arte. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa the 1950s. Classic flush mount consisting of textured blue/green glass and a simple enamel...
Category

1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Fontana Arte

Materials

Aluminum, Brass

Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte Etched Glass Mirror, Italy, circa 1940
By Pietro Chiesa, Fontana Arte
Located in New York, NY
A Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte etched glass mirror in a stunning aqua color. The scalloped shaped form is segmented with etched glass motif and decorated with crystal rosettes. Th...
Category

1940s Italian Vintage Fontana Arte

Materials

Glass, Wood

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Fontana Arte furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Fontana Arte 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 Fontana Arte furniture, although beige editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by Fontana Arte were created in the mid-century modern style in italy during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Stilnovo, Barovier&Toso, and Gaetano Sciolari. Prices for Fontana Arte furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $2,200 and can go as high as $42,800, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $10,400.

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