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.
Pair of wall lamps by Gae Aulenti & Livio Castiglioni for Stilnovo, 1970s
By Gae Aulenti, Livio Castiglioni, Stilnovo
Located in Rotterdam, NL
Pair of swiveling wall spots in chromed metal with silver coloured reflectors designed by Gae Aulenti and Livio Castiglioni for Stilnovo in the 1970s. As described in a catalogue by...
Metal
Yellow Glicine Ceiling or Wall lamp by Gae Aulenti for Vistosi, 1970s
By Vistosi, Gae Aulenti
Located in Rotterdam, NL
Yellow Glicine ceiling lamp made from of Murano glass, designed by Gae Aulenti for Vistosi in 1976. The model is executed "in blown glass, chromatically worked as peacock's feathers...
Metal
$696 / item
H 7.4 in W 1.8 in D 7.7 in
Gae Aulenti & Piero Castiglioni 'Minibox' Table Lamp in White for Stilnovo
By Stilnovo, Gae Aulenti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Gae Aulenti & Piero Castiglioni 'Minibox' table lamp in white for Stilnovo Founded in 1946 in Milan, Stilnovo was one of the most innovative lighting companies in Italy during...
Metal
$696 / item
H 7.4 in W 1.8 in D 7.7 in
Gae Aulenti & Piero Castiglioni 'Minibox' Table Lamp in Gold for Stilnovo
By Stilnovo, Gae Aulenti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Gae Aulenti & Piero Castiglioni 'Minibox' table lamp in gold for Stilnovo Founded in 1946 in Milan, Stilnovo was one of the most innovative lighting companies in Italy during th...
Metal
Mid-Century Spot Lamp in Chrome by Gae Aulenti for Stilnovo, Italy 1970s
By Livio Castiglioni, Gae Aulenti, Stilnovo
Located in Roma, IT
Iconic adjustable spot lamp in the largest variant fully made in chrome and steel designed by Gae Aulenti and Livio Castiglioni for Stilnovo in the 1970s. This versatile wall or cei...
Metal, Chrome
$6,867 / set
H 20.48 in W 19.69 in D 6.7 in
Pair of Gae Aulenti & Livio Castiglioni Trepiù Table Lamps for Stilnovo, 1972
By Gae Aulenti, Livio Castiglioni, Stilnovo
Located in Milan, IT
Rare pair of Gae Aulenti & Livio Castiglioni 'Sistema Trepiù' table lamps for Stilnovo, Italy, 1972. Signed Stilnovo.
Aluminum, Chrome, Iron
$696 / item
H 7.4 in W 1.8 in D 7.7 in
Gae Aulenti & Piero Castiglioni 'Minibox' Table Lamp in Green for Stilnovo
By Gae Aulenti, Stilnovo
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Gae Aulenti & Piero Castiglioni 'Minibox' table lamp in green for Stilnovo Founded in 1946 in Milan, Stilnovo was one of the most innovative lighting companies in Italy during the M...
Metal
$696 / item
H 7.4 in W 1.8 in D 7.7 in
Gae Aulenti & Piero Castiglioni 'Minibox' Table Lamp in Black for Stilnovo
By Gae Aulenti, Stilnovo
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Gae Aulenti & Piero Castiglioni 'Minibox' table lamp in black for Stilnovo Founded in 1946 in Milan, Stilnovo was one of the most innovative lighting companies in Italy during the M...
Metal
$2,628
H 35.44 in Dm 13.78 in
Italian Green "Neverrino" Pendant Light by Gae Aulenti for Vistosi, 1970s
By Vistosi, Gae Aulenti
Located in Morazzone, Varese
Italian Green "Neverrino" Pendant Light by Gae Aulenti for Vistosi, 1970s Gorgeous "Neverrino" Glass Pendant Lamp in stunning green color, designed by Gae Aulenti for Vistosi, Italy...
Murano Glass
$3,376
H 14.57 in Dm 11.82 in
Neverino Murano Glass Pendant Lamp by Gae Aulenti for Vistosi Italy 1970s
By Vistosi, Gae Aulenti
Located in Berlin, DE
Neverino Murano Glass Pendant Lamp by Gae Aulenti for Vistosi, suspended from a black cord with ceiling cap. The hand-blown glass has a dense millefiori-style pattern in blue, grey, ...
Murano Glass
Gae Aulenti table lamp for Vistosi Italy c1970
By Gae Aulenti, Vistosi
Located in London, GB
Gae Aulenti for Vistosi table lamp. Italy c1970 The glass shade can be tilted. 4 bulb holders. Two switches allows for 3 bulbs inside shade to be lit. Or, one bulb at the top of t...
Glass
Gae Aulenti for Vistosi 1970s 'Neverino' Murano Glass Table Lamp
By Vistosi, Gae Aulenti
Located in New York, NY
Designed by Gae Aulenti for Vistosi of Italy table lamp known as the Neverrino' series. The shade is hand blown clear with blue murrine (small flower) glass. It rests upon a black en...
Murano Glass
Trepiù Wall Spotlight by Gae Aulenti & Livio Castiglioni
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Trepiù Wall Spotlight by Gae Aulenti & Livio Castiglioni for Stilnovo, Italy, 1970s This Trepiù spotlight was designed by Gae Aulenti and Livio Castiglioni for Stilnovo in Italy...
Chrome
Gae Aulenti style ceiling pendant, Italy circa 1970s
By Gae Aulenti
Located in Long Island City, NY
Gae Aulenti style ceiling pendant. Large glass shade in UFO shape. Abstract color pattern. Italy 1970s. Takes one medium base bulb. Complimentary US rewiring upon request. Overall dr...
Metal, Chrome
Sold
H 12.6 in W 10.24 in D 6.7 in
Pair of wall lamps by Gae Aulenti & Livio Castiglioni for Stilnovo, 1970s
By Livio Castiglioni, Gae Aulenti, Stilnovo
Located in Rotterdam, NL
Pair of swiveling wall spots in chromed metal with silver coloured reflectors designed by Gae Aulenti and Livio Castiglioni for Stilnovo in the 1970s. As described in a catalogue by...
Metal
Sold
H 12.6 in W 10.24 in D 6.7 in
Set of four wall lamps by Gae Aulenti & Livio Castiglioni for Stilnovo, 1970s
By Livio Castiglioni, Gae Aulenti, Stilnovo
Located in Rotterdam, NL
Set of four swiveling wall spots in chromed metal with silver coloured reflectors designed by Gae Aulenti and Livio Castiglioni for Stilnovo in the 1970s. As described in a catalogu...
Metal
Pair of TOTEM Wall Lamps by Gae Aulenti for Stilnovo, 1970s
By Gae Aulenti, Stilnovo
Located in Rotterdam, NL
A pair of Totem wall lamps, designed by Gae Aulenti for Stilnovo, 1970s. The lamps were originally meant to be used outdoors, but they can jus...
Plastic
Sold
H 6.3 in W 6.89 in D 9.26 in
Chrome Wall Lamp by Gae Aulenti and Livio Castiglioni for Stilnovo, 1970s
By Gae Aulenti, Livio Castiglioni, Stilnovo
Located in Rotterdam, NL
Swiveling wall spot of chromed metal designed by Gae Aulenti and Livio Castiglioni for Stilnovo in the 1970s. As described in a Stilnovo catalogue this lamp has been designed in various versions: "Three series of swiveling projectors having different projection, made of yellow or black Makrolon with chromed or white lacquered reflector. Every set includes the utilizations: ceiling or wall, rail track...
Metal
Sold
H 12.6 in W 10.24 in D 6.7 in
Set of 12 wall lamps by Gae Aulenti & Livio Castiglioni for Stilnovo, 1970s
By Stilnovo, Livio Castiglioni, Gae Aulenti
Located in Rotterdam, NL
Set of 12 swiveling wall spots of chromed metal designed by Gae Aulenti and Livio Castiglioni for Stilnovo, 1970s. As described in a catalogue by Stilnovo these lamps by Gae Aulen...
Metal
1970s Italian Wall or Floor Lamp by Gae Aulenti for Artemide
By Artemide, Gae Aulenti
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A plastic flush mount wall lamp or floor lamp with rotating shade for Directional lighting.
Plastic