Vico Magistretti for Artemide Italian Chimera Floor Lamp, 1960s
View Similar Items
Vico Magistretti for Artemide Italian Chimera Floor Lamp, 1960s
About the Item
- Creator:Vico Magistretti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 72 in (182.88 cm)Diameter: 9 in (22.86 cm)
- Style:Modern (Of the Period)
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. please contact for a detailed condition report.
- Seller Location:Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU885013796992
Vico Magistretti
As one of the founding fathers of modern Italian design, prolific architect and industrial designer Ludovico Magistretti (known by his nickname Vico) was guided by his philosophy, “There is no excuse for bad design.” His architectural projects are widely revered, and an ingenious meld of form and function can be found in his stylish and deceptively simple table lamps, sofas, armchairs and other mid-century furnishings.
Born in Milan, Magistretti followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather (both architects) to study architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan. At the outbreak of World War II, he fled to Switzerland, and it was there he met his role model and mentor, renowned humanist architect Ernesto Nathan Rogers. Magistretti was inspired by Rogers’s vision to revive postwar Italy, and they collaborated on several reconstruction projects. Among Magistretti’s first architectural designs is a “poetic” round church, which he created for the QT8, an experimental Milanese neighborhood.
When Magistretti returned to Milan in 1945, he worked at his father’s architectural firm. It wasn’t until the early 1950s that he expanded his talents into design while working with furniture artisans.
In the 1960s, Magistretti began his 30-year working relationship with famed entrepreneur Cesare Cassina of the Cassina furniture manufacturing company. In their design approach, the two men shared a vision of the relationship between modernity and tradition and enjoyed a close bond (Magistretti designed Cassina’s luxurious villa in 1965). However, their friendship was not without contention.
Legend has it that upon seeing the prototype for Magistretti’s Maralunga sofa, Cassina hated it so much that he punched it, breaking the back of the sofa, which crumpled into itself.
“Right, great, it looks perfect to me like that,” an unfazed Magistretti allegedly responded, and the Maralunga’s slumped, adjustable-height backrest was born. Incidentally, the Maralunga sofa won Italy’s Compasso d’Oro award as did his Eclisse lamp for Artemide and his Atollo lamp for Oluce.
Magistretti died in 2006, but his designs live on in galleries, museums and private residences and offices around the world.
Find a range of vintage Vico Magistretti furniture and lighting on 1stDibs.
More From This Seller
View AllMid-20th Century American Modern Floor Lamps
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Steel
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Leather, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal, Chrome
You May Also Like
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Plexiglass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Plastic
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1970s Italian Floor Lamps
Metal
Late 20th Century Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Lucite
