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.
Mid-Century Modern Coffee Table by Gae Aulenti, Glass Top, Italy
By Fontana Arte, Gae Aulenti
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A vintage Mid-Century Modern coffee table ( tavolo con route ) from Gae Aulenti, the original for Fontana Arte, with glass top and swivel wheels in good condition. The Italian indust...
Glass, Rubber
$2,266Sale Price / item|20% Off
Tavolo Con Ruote Low Table with Glass Top by Gae Aulenti for Fontana Arte
By Gae Aulenti, Fontana Arte
Located in Brooklyn, NY
An Industrial trolley used at the Fontana Arte plant to transport glass: This was the object that inspired Gae Aulenti to design her Tavolo con Ruote. Thi...
Glass
$7,527Sale Price / set|42% Off
Rare Pair of Marble Coffee or Sofa Tables by Gae Aulenti for Knoll, Italy, 1970s
By Gae Aulenti
Located in Berlin, DE
Set of two coffee or sofa tables by Gae Aulenti for Knoll from the 1970s. Rare version with white marble table top! Very good condition with some lacquer chips on the base.
Marble
$3,195
H 13.39 in W 29.53 in D 29.53 in
Mid-Century Modern Chrome Coffee Table Glass Fumè Top by G. Frattini for Cassina
By Mario Bellini
Located in Vigonza, Padua
Iconic design 1960s chrome coffee table with fumè glass, Gianfranco Frattini designer, Cassina manufacturer. Measures cm: H 34, W 75, D 75.
Steel
$842Sale Price|20% Off
H 20.87 in Dm 25.6 in
Circular Italian Mid-Century Glass Top Coffee Table Attr. to Carlo di Carli
By Carlo di Carli
Located in Vienna, AT
This charming circular mid-century coffee or side table was designed and manufactured in Italy in the 1950s. It's style is very close to coffee tables designed by Carlo di Carli. It ...
Glass, Wood
Gae Aulenti for Zanotta "Gaetano" Writing Table, Italy 1970s
By Gae Aulenti, Zanotta
Located in Naples, IT
Gaetano work table by Gae Aulenti for Zanotta with original glass top supported by two folding trestles in black and red enamelled metal. Timeless object. With its dry and essential ...
Metal
$15,750
H 14 in W 44.5 in D 44.5 in
Mid-Century Gae Aulenti Jumbo Coffee Table, Arabescato Marble for Knoll
By Gae Aulenti, Knoll
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Jumbo coffee table designed by Italian architect Gae Aulenti in 1965 for Gavina, later acquired by Knoll in 1972. Sculptural piece constructed entirely from Arabescato marble with fo...
Marble
$2,400
H 9.75 in W 55 in D 27.5 in
Gae Aulenti Tavolo Con Ruote Low Glass Coffee Table on Casters for Fontana Arte
By Fontana Arte, Gae Aulenti
Located in Miami, FL
Designed by Gae Aulenti, this low coffee table consists of a tempered glass top supported by four black industrial wheels and was produced by Fontana Arte and imported by Luminaire. ...
Steel
Gae Aulenti Enamel Steel Lounge Coffee Table for Knoll, 1980
By Knoll, Gae Aulenti
Located in Vienna, AT
Enamel metal sculptural coffee table designed by Gae Aulenti for Knoll, original label. We got this from the first owner together with pair of matching original chairs from the same series (check our other listings). It's a heavy metal sculptural coffee table in a great size of 34"x34". The steel frame has light scratches and age related wear. The coated table top has light scratches and patina, sturdy and structurally sound, ready to be used immediately. In recent years Gae (pronounced "Guy...
Steel
$2,130
H 14.18 in W 46.07 in D 30.32 in
Mid-Century Modern Italian Chrome Coffee Table with Smoked Glass Top, 1970s
Located in Prato, IT
Mid-Century Modern Italian sofa or coffee table with smoked glass top and chrome legs
Chrome
$21,895
H 14.18 in W 49.22 in D 49.22 in
Beautiful "jumbo" marble coffee table designed by Gae Aulenti for Knoll
By Gae Aulenti
Located in Barcelona, Cataluna
Beautiful design by Gae Aulenti for this marble coffee table. It is difficult to find this table in this colour. It is spectacular with its veins. There is the Knoll label on the env...
Marble
$4,500
H 12.008 in W 43.504 in D 43.504 in
‘Tavolino Com Route" Coffee Table by Gae Aulenti, Italy, 1980’s
By Gae Aulenti
Located in Chicago, IL
‘Tavolino Com Route" coffee table by Gae Aulenti, Italy 1980’s black granite top, black lacquered wood frame, and large industrial wheels.
Granite
$12,900
H 14.18 in W 44.49 in D 44.49 in
"Jumbo" Coffee Table from Carrara Marble - Gae Aulenti for Knoll, Italy, 1965
By Knoll, Gae Aulenti
Located in Rosendahl, DE
Sculptural Carrara Marble Icon by Gae Aulenti for Knoll, Italy, 1960s Designed by Gae Aulenti in 1965 for Knoll International, the “Jumbo” coffee table is a bold statement of Italia...
Carrara Marble
$2,500
H 10 in W 47.25 in D 47.25 in
1990s Gae Aulenti for Fontana Arte Tavolo Con Ruote Glass Coffee Table 47"
By Fontana Arte, Gae Aulenti
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Tavolo Con Ruote coffee table, originally designed by Gae Aulenti for Fontana Arte in 1980. This particular example was produced in Italy and dates back to the 1990s. The t...
Metal
$18,000Sale Price|20% Off
H 14 in W 45 in D 45 in
Gae Aulenti Jumbo Coffee Table, Arabescato Marble, Knoll, 1960's
By Gae Aulenti, Knoll
Located in Culver City, CA
Gae Aulenti for Knoll “Jumbo” Table, circa 1960s in Arabescato marble *Note on material: Arabescato marble ≠ Carrara. While often confused, Arabescato is...
Marble
Double Top Coffee Table by Gae Aulenti for Zanotta, 1970
By Gae Aulenti, Zanotta
Located in MIlano, IT
Double top coffee table by Gae Aulenti for Zanotta, 1970 Eclectic Italian coffee table of important size from 1970s, designed by Gae Aulen...
Metal