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
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
$7,375Sale Price / set|43% 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
$3,130
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
Gae Aulenti Jumbo Coffee Table, Arabescato Marble, Knoll, 1960's
By Knoll, Gae Aulenti
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
$1,088Sale Price|50% Off
H 17.33 in W 34.65 in D 34.65 in
F.Lli Saporiti Mid-Century Modern Italian Walnut Coffee Table, 1960s
By Fratelli Saporiti
Located in Puglia, Puglia
Walnut coffee table, produced by F.lli Saporiti in Besnate Italy, this model is patented. " If you like it please make your offer and we will evaluate it, it couldn't be better than...
Walnut
$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
$12,639
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
$1,066Sale Price|20% Off
H 14.97 in W 27.56 in D 29.53 in
Gae Aulenti Laminate and Purple Metal Italian Coffee Table for Zanotta, 1970s
By Zanotta, Gae Aulenti
Located in Roma, IT
Amazing midcentury laminate and purple enamel metal coffee table. This fantastic piece was designed in Italy by Gae Aulenti for Zanotta during the 1970s. This stunning straight-lined table with a clean enamelled metal frame with a light purple laminate formica top is in a stunning vintage condition. A wonderful item is perfect to complete a mid-century minimal living room...
Crystal, Metal
$2,087
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
Gae Aulenti Jumbo Coffee Table for Knoll
By Gae Aulenti, Knoll
Located in San Francisco, CA
Gae Aulenti Jumbo coffee table for Knoll. Architect and designer Gae Aulenti's Jumbo coffee table is her most iconic creation made from honed white ...
Carrara 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
Sold|$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
$3,444
H 12.01 in W 35.44 in D 35.44 in
Mid Century Modern Marble Glass Coffee Table Style Mangiarotti Italy 1970s
By Angelo Mangiarotti
Located in Vienna, AT
Mid Century Modern vintage coffee table or sofa table style Angelo Mangiarotti from marble and smoked glass Italy 1970s. While the base features three geometric elements from dark gr...
Marble
$2,249
H 15.75 in W 31.5 in D 19.69 in
Mid-Century Modern Brass Chrome Coffee Table by Willy Rizzo Signed 1970s Italy
By Willy Rizzo
Located in Vienna, AT
This signed Willy Rizzo vintage coffee table was made of brass and chromed metal and appears as an elegant beauty. Willy Rizzo (1928-2...
Metal, Brass
Double Top Coffee Table by Gae Aulenti for Zanotta, 1970
By Zanotta, Gae Aulenti
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