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Gae Aulenti

Italian, 1927-2012

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.

Average Sold Price
$6,207
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Materials
Related Creators
Iconic Designs from Gae Aulenti
Explore timeless pieces that have earned their place in history.
Pileino Lamp
Pileino Lamp
Jumbo Coffee Table
Jumbo Coffee Table
Sgarsul Rocker
Sgarsul Rocker
Gae Aulenti Pipistrello Lamp
Gae Aulenti Pipistrello Lamp
Large Pair Gae Aulenti Glicene De Terra Plum Murrine Floor Table Lamps Vistosi
By Gae Aulenti
Located in Ann Arbor, MI
Rare pair of Vistosi Glicene De Terra Murrine table lamps or floor lamps in plum. These lamps were designed by Gae Aulenti and are seldom seen on the open market. Finding a pair is v...
Category

1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Gae Aulenti

Materials

Blown Glass

Rare Vistosi Pair Poveglia Murrine Table Lamps Gae Aulenti, 1970s
By Gae Aulenti
Located in Ann Arbor, MI
Rare Pair of Vistosi Poveglia Murrine table lamps in vibrant yellow. These lamps were designed by Gae Aulenti and are seldom seen on the open market. Finding a pair is virtually impo...
Category

1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Gae Aulenti

Materials

Blown Glass

Rare Pair Vistosi Poveglia Murrine Lamps in Plum Murrine Decoration Gae Aulenti
By Gae Aulenti
Located in Ann Arbor, MI
Rare pair of Vistosi Poveglia Murrine table lamps in plum. These lamps were designed by Gae Aulenti and are seldom seen on the open market. Finding a pair is virtually impossible. Th...
Category

1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Gae Aulenti

Materials

Blown Glass

Gae Aulenti for Vistosi Murano Glass Model Glicine Lamp, Italy 1970s
By Vistosi, Gae Aulenti
Located in Almelo, NL
Gae Aulenti for vistosi murano glass model glicine lamp, Italy 1970s. Glicene De Terra Murrine large table or floor Lamp by Gae Aulenti for Vistosi. Manufacturing Italians from th...
Category

Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Gae Aulenti

Materials

Metal

Gae Aulenti for Poltronova 'Locus Solus' Daybed in Chrome-Plated Steel
By Gae Aulenti, Poltronova
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Gae Aulenti for Poltronova Production, daybed model 'Locus Solus', chrome-plated steel, Italy, 1964 This daybed by Gae Aulenti is part of the 'Locus Solus' series created in 1964...
Category

1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Gae Aulenti

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Giova Lamp by Gae Aulenti for Fontana Arte, Italy, 1964
By Fontana Arte, Gae Aulenti
Located in Carpaneto Piacentino, Italy
Giova lamp by Gae Aulenti for Fontana Arte, 1964. Hybrid between a vase and a lamp, Giova marks the debut of Gae Aulenti in the field of designer lighting. A real luminous sculpture ...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Gae Aulenti

Materials

Glass

Gae Aulenti for Knoll International "Orsay" Armchairs, 1970s
By Gae Aulenti
Located in Almelo, NL
"Orsay" armchairs by Gae Aulenti for Knoll International, Italy 1970s These "Orsay" armchairs were designed by Gae Aulenti an...
Category

Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Gae Aulenti

Materials

Steel

"Locus Solus" Armchair by Gae Aulenti for Zanotta
By Gae Aulenti, Zanotta
Located in Milan, IT
"Locus Solus" armchair by Gae Aulenti for Zanotta. Chrome frame and original black leather seat.
Category

1980s Italian Vintage Gae Aulenti

Materials

Metal

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Creators Similar to Gae Aulenti

More Gae Aulenti Designs
Pileino Lamp
Pileino Lamp
Average Price
$1,929
Number Available
6
Pileino Lamp
By Gae Aulenti
Materials
Metal, Plastic
Styles
Mid Century Modern
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Jumbo Coffee Table
Jumbo Coffee Table
Average Price
$18,134
Number Available
6
Jumbo Coffee Table
By Gae Aulenti
Materials
Marble, Stone, Carrara Marble
Styles
Mid Century Modern
The Jumbo coffee table was more than just a piece of furniture to Gae Aulenti (1927–2012). As a participant in Italy’s Neo-Liberty movement in the late 1950s, she rejected the omnipresent Bauhaus modernist aesthetic and instead chose to create pieces that exemplified her taste for classical design with a modern edge. The Jumbo coffee table, with its opulent marble top and sculpted column legs, epitomized Aulenti's approach. Weighing nearly 450 pounds, the table is unquestionably heavy yet it ...
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Sgarsul Rocker
Sgarsul Rocker
Average Price
$3,217
Number Available
4
Sgarsul Rocker
By Gae Aulenti
Materials
Animal Skin, Leather, Wood
Styles
Mid Century Modern
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Gae Aulenti Pipistrello Lamp
Gae Aulenti Pipistrello Lamp
Average Price
$4,143
Number Available
4
Gae Aulenti Pipistrello Lamp
By Gae Aulenti
Materials
Metal, Stainless Steel, Copper, Plastic
Styles
Mid Century Modern, Modern
Like the animal for which it is named, Gae Aulenti’s 1965 Pipistrello, which means “bat” in Italian, is a lamp that’s both graceful and skeletal. With its translucent shade and telescopic stem, the Pipistrello merges art and engineering. Designing her iconic lamp wasn’t Aulenti’s only project at the time; she was also teaching at the School of Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan and running her architecture practice, which she founded in 1954.In addition to architecture, Aulen...
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Gae Aulenti furniture for sale on 1stDibs

Furniture by Gae Aulenti are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive objects are frequently made of metal and designed with extraordinary care. There are many options in our Gae Aulenti collection of furniture, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular.. In stock are 116 vintage editions of these items, while there are 41 modern editions to choose from as well. Many of the original furniture by Gae Aulenti were created in Europe during the 20th century in the Mid-Century Modern style. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Tobia Scarpa, Angelo Brotto and Tommaso Barbi. Prices for Gae Aulenti furniture can vary depending on size, time period and other attributes. The price for these items starts at $520 and tops out at $29,800, while pieces like these can sell for $3,750 on average.

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