Pair of Very Large Fontana Arte Wall Lights by Pietro Chiesa
About the Item
- Creator:Fontana Arte (Manufacturer),Pietro Chiesa (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 18.5 in (46.99 cm)Width: 5 in (12.7 cm)Depth: 7.5 in (19.05 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1936
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Excellent vintage condition, minor wear consistent with age and use. Have been re-wired.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU813830959472
Fontana Arte
Best known for its elegant and innovative vintage lighting fixtures, the Milan-based firm Fontana Arte pioneered one of the key features of 20th-century and contemporary Italian design: the union of artistry and industry wrought by partnerships between creative talents — chiefly architects — and entrepreneurial businesses. Fontana Arte is further distinguished by having had as artistic director, in succession, four of Italy’s most inventive modernist designers: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, French transplant Max Ingrand and Gae Aulenti.
The bread and butter of the glassmaking company that Luigi Fontana founded in 1881 was plate-glass panels for the construction industry. In 1930, Fontana met Ponti — then the artistic director of the Richard Ginori ceramics workshop and the editor of the influential magazine Domus — at a biannual design exhibition that became the precursor to today’s Milan Design Triennale, and the two hatched an idea for a furniture and housewares firm. Fontana Arte was incorporated in 1932 with Ponti as its chief of design. He contributed several lamps that remain among the company’s signature works, including the orb-atop-cone Bilia table lamp and the 0024 pendant — a stratified hanging sphere.
The following year, Fontana Arte partnered with the influential Milan studio glassmaker and retailer Pietro Chiesa, who took over as artistic director. Chiesa’s designs for lighting — as well as for tables and items including vases and ashtrays — express an appreciation for fluidity and simplicity of line, as seen in works such as his flute-shaped Luminator floor lamp and the 1932 Fontana table — an arched sheet of glass that is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Six years after Chiesa’s 1948 death, the École des Beaux Arts–trained Max Ingrand took over as head of design at Fontana Arte. Ingrand brought a similarly expressive formal sensibility to wares such as lamps and mirrors, but he also had a masterful eye for the manipulation of glass surfaces — whether they be cut, frosted, acid-etched or sand-blasted. His classic design is the Fontana table lamp of 1954, which has a truncated cone shade and curved body, both of which are made of pure, chic white-frosted glass.
Following Ingrand, the often-audacious Italian architect Gae Aulenti served as the company’s artistic director from 1979 to 1996, and while she generally insisted that furnishings take second place aesthetically to architecture, she made an exception for Fontana Arte pieces such as the Tavolo con Ruote series of glass coffee and dining tables on wheels, bold lighting pieces such as the Parola series and the Giova, a combination flower vase and table lamp. As a key incubator of modern design under Aulenti’s tenure, Fontana Arte remained true to its long-held commitment — creating objects that have never been less than daring.
Find vintage Fontana Arte lighting fixtures such as pendants, table lamps and more on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Pair of Rare Fontana Arte Wall LightsBy Max Ingrand, Fontana ArteLocated in New York, NYPair of rare Fontana Arte wall lights designed by Max Ingrand in the late 1950s. Each features two overlapping frosted glass shades on a brass...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Large Fontana Arte Wall Light, Italy, 1960sBy Fontana Arte, Pietro ChiesaLocated in New York, NYLarge Fontana Arte wall light, Italy, 1960s. $7,500.00 Large scale wall light designed by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte in the 1960s. Features a massive textured conical glass mou...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Flower Motif Chandelier Attributed Pietro Chiesa for Fontana ArteBy Fontana Arte, Pietro ChiesaLocated in New York, NY“Floral” Italian Mid-Century chandelier attributed to Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte. Curved brass arms terminate with white decorative hardware and clear glass disks. Condition: G...Category
Vintage 1940s Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Large Max Ingrand Sconces Model 2301 for Fontana ArteBy Max Ingrand, Fontana ArteLocated in New York, NYExtremely rare Fontana Arte wall lights Model 2301 designed by Max Ingrand in the 1960s. Each has a large satin glass diffuser with irregularly chiseled accents. Brass hardware holdi...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Fontana Arte Wall Light Model 1636 by Max IngrandBy Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in New York, NYFontana Arte Wall Light Model 1636 by Max Ingrand $9,500.00 Rare wall lights, model 1636, designed by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte in the 1950s. Each features a curved frosted glass ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsGlass
- Pair of Green "Dalia" Sconces by Max Ingrand for Fontana ArteBy Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in New York, NYBeautiful pair of Fontana Arte wall lights, model 1461 from the "Dalia" series. The glasses are turquoise and green while the frame is brass with two candelabra sockets. One of Max I...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Pietro Chiesa, Pair of Wall Lights, Brass, Paper, Fontana Arte, Italy, 1940sBy Pietro Chiesa, Fontana ArteLocated in High Point, NCA pair of sizable six-armed, brass wall lights with parchment paper lampshades, designed by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte, Italy, 1940s. Shade dimensions : 2.5" x 5" x 5" lit...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Midcentury pair of wall lights mod. 1537 by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana ArteBy Pietro Chiesa, Fontana ArteLocated in Piacenza, ItalyMidcentury pair of wall lights mod. 1537 by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte . Frosted glass lampshade with original golden brass structure. Italy, 1940 Literature : Quaderni di Fon...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Pietro Chiesa Fontana Arte Italian Modern Brass & Glass Wall LightsBy Pietro Chiesa, Fontana ArteLocated in New York, NYPAIR of midcentury Italian Modern brass and glass wall lights / sconces (Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte) (PRICED AS PAIR).Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Sconces by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana ArteBy Pietro Chiesa, Fontana ArteLocated in Los Angeles, CAPair of Sconces by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa 1940s. Brass with opaline glass diffusers. Each light takes two E27 40w maximum bulbs. Bu...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of 1940s Model #1537 Sconces by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana ArteBy Pietro Chiesa, Fontana ArteLocated in Glendale, CAPair of 1940s Model #1537 Sconces by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte. Executed in opaline glass and metal in Italy, circa late 1930s / early 1940s. A highly refined design by one of t...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsMetal
- Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte Model 1537 Wall Lamp, Italy 1940sBy Pietro Chiesa, Fontana ArteLocated in Naples, ITWall lamp model 1537 from 1940 by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte, made of opaline glass and brass. A highly refined design by one of the greatest masters of lighting, this exceptiona...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass