Vico Magistretti for Artemide, "Mezza Chimera" Lamp, Italy, 1970s
View Similar Items
Vico Magistretti for Artemide, "Mezza Chimera" Lamp, Italy, 1970s
About the Item
- Creator:Vico Magistretti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31 in (78.74 cm)Diameter: 8 in (20.32 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: MAGIV 011stDibs: LU781312361981
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.
- Nucci Valsecchi, Pair of Table Lamps, Italy, C. 1970By Nucci ValsecchiLocated in New York, NYPair of brass and chromed metal table lamps by Nucci Valsecchi.Category
20th Century Italian Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Chrome
$19,500 / set - Gérard Haas "Timescapes LED Chronotope", Light Sculpture, France, circa 1970sBy Gérard HaasLocated in New York, NYThis series by Gérard Haas is many things at once--functional and Avant Garde, elegant and expressive--thanks to the artist's surprising use of reclaimed materials. Finding beauty in...Category
Vintage 1970s French Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Gérard Haas "Timescapes: Led Chronotope", Light Sculpture, France, circa 1970sBy Gérard HaasLocated in New York, NYThis series by Gérard Haas is many things at once--functional and avant garde, elegant and expressive--thanks to the artist's surprising use of reclaimed m...Category
Vintage 1970s French Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Gérard Haas "Timescapes LED Chronotope", Light Sculpture, France, circa 1970sBy Gérard HaasLocated in New York, NYThis series by Gérard Haas is many things at once, functional and Avant Garde, elegant and expressive, thanks to the artist's surprising use of reclaimed materials. Finding beauty in...Category
Vintage 1970s French Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Gérard Haas "Timescapes: LED Chronotope", Light Sculpture, France, circa 1970sBy Gérard HaasLocated in New York, NYThis series by Gérard Haas is many things at once--functional and Avant Garde, elegant and expressive--thanks to the artist's surprising use of reclaimed m...Category
Vintage 1970s French Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Gérard Haas "Timescapes, LED Chronotope", Light Sculpture, France, circa 1970sBy Gérard HaasLocated in New York, NYThis series by Gérard Haas is many things at once, functional and Avant Garde, elegant and expressive, thanks to the artist's surprising use of reclaimed m...Category
Vintage 1970s French Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Eclisse Table Lamp by Vico Magistretti for ArtemideBy Vico Magistretti, ArtemideLocated in Byron Bay, NSWEclisse Table Lamp by Vico Magistretti for Artemide, 1967. This Eclipse table lamp designed by Vico Magistretti features a rotating inner white shade that eclipses the light source a...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Space Age Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Italian Chimera Floor Lamp by Vico Magistretti for Artemide First Edition, 1969By Vico Magistretti, ArtemideLocated in Byron Bay, NSWThis is a super rare first edition of the chimera floor lamp by Vico Magistretti for Artemide Milano 1970s The first edition has a different base c...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsPlexiglass
- Vintage Green Pendant by Vico Magistretti for Artemide, Italy 1970sBy Vico Magistretti, ArtemideLocated in Ceglie Messapica, ITVintage Green Pendant by Vico Magistretti for Artemide, Italy 1970s A rare 1970s vintage pendant by Vico Magistretti designer for Artemide. Bicolor structure (white and green) and extendible electrical wire (up to one metre). White opaline glass light...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsIron
$1,319 Sale Price20% Off - Chimera Lamp by Vico Magistretti, Italy, 1970sBy Vico MagistrettiLocated in Roma, ITChimera lamp is an original lamp realized in the 1970s by Vico Magistretti (1920 - 2006). Steel and art glass. Mint conditions. Floor Lamp. T...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Floor Lamps
MaterialsSteel
- Mid-century Vintage Red Dalù Table Lamp by Vico Magistretti for Artemide, 1960sBy Vico Magistretti, ArtemideLocated in Warszawa, MazowieckieThis rare table lamp was designed by Vico Magistretti for the Italian manufacture Artemide during the 1960s. The lamp is made of red plastic. Dalù is one of the best designs to reflect the strict style of the great artist, who placed beauty and everyday use on the same level. Vico Magistretti was born in Milan. He attended Parini High School before enrolled in the Regio Politecnico Faculty of Architecture in Milan in the fall of 1939. In 1943-1944 he moved to Switzerland, where he attended several academic courses at the Champ Universitarie Italien in Lausanne. It was then that he spent time with Ernesto Nathan Rogers, who had a key influence on his intellectual education. In 1945 he returned to Milan, where he graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the Polytechnic University. He immediately started working for his father's company, the architect Piergiulio Magistretti, in via Conservatorio. The 1950s were a very busy and fruitful period for the young architect, who came up with many innovative ideas and very quickly became one of the most outstanding representatives of the third generation. Over the next few years he worked as a designer as well as an architect, creating furniture and objects that will always be classics of contemporary production. It was then that he was awarded the Golden Compass for the Eclisse lamp...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Space Age Table Lamps
MaterialsPlastic
$813 Sale Price25% Off - Sixties Telegono Lamp by Vico Magistretti for Artemide, ItalyBy Vico Magistretti, ArtemideLocated in RHEEZERVEEN, OverijsselThe Telegono can be used as desk or table lamp. The black lamp is the only one available and has a built-in pen tray. The hood is adjustable.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsAcrylic
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
These Accomplished Female Makers Have a Penchant for Offbeat Organic Designs
Daring shapes and soft curves define the impressive output of five women furniture designers around the globe — in Ireland, Ukraine, Israel, Denmark and France.
Michael Coffey Stirs Emotions with Works Like His Satan’s Tongue Table
Drawing on both artistry and clever engineering, the master craftsman imbues his pieces with movement and drama.