Gae Aulenti for Artemide "Oracolo" Floor Lamp, Italy 1969
About the Item
- Creator:Artemide (Maker),Gae Aulenti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 55.12 in (140 cm)Diameter: 15.75 in (40 cm)
- Power Source:Plug-in
- Lampshade:Included
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1969
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Naples, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3221336655532
Gae Aulenti
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.
Artemide
Artemide is an iconic firm in the design world. The mid-century Italian company is one of the best known lighting manufacturers and its award-winning fixtures are held in museum collections everywhere. Vintage Artemide table lamps, pendants, ceiling lamps and other lighting represent a thoughtful merge between functionalism and eye-catching design.
Artemide, which is based in Pregnana, was founded by Ernesto Gismondi and Sergio Mazza in 1959. During that year, Mazza created the first table lamp for the manufacturer — a modernist work in glass, marble and metal that he called the Alfa. Gismondi, who studied aeronautical engineering at the Polytechnic University of Milan and missile engineering at Rome’s Professional School of Engineering, applied his knowledge of cutting edge technology and materials such as fiberglass resin to Artemide’s designs for lighting and furniture.
In 1967, Artemide won Italy’s Compasso d'Oro design award for its Eclisse table lamp, which was designed by Vico Magistretti two years earlier. Other award-winning fixtures include the Tizio table lamp designed by Richard Sapper and the Tolomeo table lamp.
Designed by Michele de Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina, the Tolomeo featured the patented George Carwardine mechanism used in the original Anglepoise lamp. De Lucchi would later be recruited to join visionary postmodern design collective the Memphis Group. Artemide’s Gismondi purchased the brand after founder Ettore Sottsass dismantled the collective in 1988, and it was bought by Alberto Bianchi Albrici in 1996.
Artemide’s list of design, innovation, sustainability and other industry awards is long and distinguished. The firm continues to actively collaborate with internationally revered designers and seek out new talent through workshops with design schools. The company’s deeply held values — energy-saving lighting, sustainable design and ethically sourced materials — characterize its current offerings, and Artemide furniture and lighting can be found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and other institutions.
On 1stDibs, find Artemide tables, seating, floor lamps, chandeliers and more.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Naples, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Gae Aulenti & P. Castiglioni for Fontana Arte "Parolona" Floor Lamp, Italy 1980sBy Gae Aulenti, Fontana ArteLocated in Naples, ITDesigned in 1980 by Gae Aulenti and Piero Castiglioni for Fontana Arte. Three different types and processes of glass coexist in the Parolona floor lamp: blown opaline in the adjustab...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsGlass
- Gae Aulenti for Artemide "Pilenio" Table Lamp, Italy, 1970sBy Artemide, Gae AulentiLocated in Naples, ITVery rare table lamp Mod. 'Pileino' designed by Gae Aulenti for Artemide in the 1970s in Italy. Adjustable aluminium shade in the shape of a helmet and rotating round white plastic b...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Ernesto Gismondi for Artemide "Sintesi" Floor Lamp, Italy 1970By Artemide, Ernesto GismondiLocated in Naples, ITFantastic floor lamp by Ernesto Gismondi for Artemide, model Sintesi Terra Snodo from the 1970s made of black enamelled metal and plastic. Both the lamp stem and diffuser are adjust...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Carlo Forcolini for Artemide "Olimpia" Floor Lamp, Italy, 1980sBy Carlo Forcolini, ArtemideLocated in Naples, ITThis sculptural floor lamp model Olimpia takes inspiration from the design of the eye. It was designed by Carlo Forcolini and produced by Artemide. It comes from the first series of Olimpia lamps.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsAluminum
- Gianfranco Frattini for Artemide Megaron Grey Floor Lamp, Italy, 1970sBy Gianfranco Frattini, ArtemideLocated in Naples, ITFloor lamp model Megaron by Gianfranco Frattini for Artemide in, grey laquered metal.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Superstudio for Design Centre "Excelsior" Floor Lamp, Italy 1969By Superstudio, Design CentreLocated in Naples, ITFloor lamp mod. Excelsior with chrome-plated metal frame and coloured glass diffusers. Prod. Francesconi for Design Centre, Italy, 1969Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsChrome
- Oracolo Floor Lamps, Gae Aulenti for Artemide, Italy, 1969By Gae AulentiLocated in Argelato, BOGAE AULENTI (1927-2012), Oracolo Floor Lamps for Artemide, Italy, 1969. It is one of the most famous and iconic lamps of the famous Italian designer and ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsGlass
- Italian space age Brown Floor lamp Oracolo by Gae Aulenti for Artemide, 1970sBy Artemide, Gae AulentiLocated in MIlano, ITItalian space age Brown Floor lamp Oracolo by Gae Aulenti for Artemide, 1970s Floor lamp mod. Oracolo with spherical opaline glass diffuser. The cylindrical structure is in brown lac...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Space Age Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Steel
- 20th Century Gae Aulenti Floor Lamp Mod. Oracolo for Artemide, 1960sBy Artemide, Gae AulentiLocated in Turin, TurinGaetana "Gae" Aulenti (1927-2012) graduated in architecture in Milan in 1954. A decade-long collaboration with the historic magazine Casabella-Continuity (1955-1965) proved crucial t...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- 'Pileo' Floor Lamp by Gae Aulenti for ArtemideBy Artemide, Gae AulentiLocated in Los Angeles, CA'Pileo' Floor Lamp by Gae Aulenti for Artemide. Designed and manufactured in Italy, in 1972. Two-toned all-plastic floor lamp with an adjustable shade. The lamp consists of a single ...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsPlastic
- Oracolo Table Lamp by Gae Aulenti for Artemide, 1969 Set of 2By Artemide, Gae AulentiLocated in Lasne, BEPair of metal lamps with Oracle glass ball by Gae Aulenti. Wear due to time and age of the lamp.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- "Mezzo Oracolo" table lamp by Gae Aulenti for Artemide, Italy, 1969By Gae AulentiLocated in Argelato, BO'Mezza Oracolo' table lamp in opaline glass and metal by Gae Aulenti for Artemide. The large table lamp is one of the most iconic and representative works of the famous Italian architect and designer Gae Aulenti, the name is that of "Oracle", and in fact recalls the crystal ball used...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Brass