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VeArt Loos Table Lamp
Text from the catalogue:
VeArt reintroduces, in their original forms, this series of lamps designed by Adolf Loos. An ancient glass-blowing technique enhances the opal glass, bringing out its most distinctive qualities as a precious material, closely linked to traditional craftsmanship. The lamps consist of white opaline glass shades enclosed in a nickel-plated metal cage; the table versions are mounted on a painted wooden base.
Adolf Loos (1870–1933) was an Austrian architect active in various parts of Europe. On several journeys to the United States he became acquainted with the work of Louis Henry Sullivan and with early American rationalism as expressed by the Chicago school. In Vienna he spent many years alongside Josef Hoffmann and Josef Maria Olbrich, his contemporaries, whose decorative Secession style he opposed; in Otto Wagner he found a mentor. Rejecting the value of Art Nouveau, from 1897 onwards Loos developed a polemic in favour of reason, which later found confirmation and a means of expression in emerging Cubism. The Steiner House in Vienna(1910, preceded by his famous 1908 essay Ornament und Verbrechen), the Tzara House in Paris (1926) and the Müller House in Prague (1930) are key milestones that mark the beginnings and European development of architectural rationalism.
Although the VeArt catalogue clearly attributes this lamp series to Adolf Loos, the precise origin and date of the original design are not documented in the usual Loos literature, making this re-edition an interesting but still only partially documented chapter in the history of his work.
VeArt Loos Table Lamp – 1970s Catalogue Picture
Text from this catalogus picture with table lamps, pendant lamps en ceiling lamps in several sizes:
Series of lamps in opal white glass blown in a metallic nickeled cage. The table lamps have a painted wood base.
VeArt repropose in the original models this series of lamps drawn by Adolf Loos. An ancient technique of blowing which exploit the glass in its aspects more characteristic of precious material, bound to the man’s handicraft work.
As you can see these lamps have an attached label with a price written on it. It is in Belgian francs. This one, the biggest model, was priced 7304 francs. 1 euro is 40,33 francs, so this lamp was available for 181,10 euro in the 70s.
VeArt Loos Table Lamp
Caged glass / vetro in gabbia
In Venice and Murano an old technique known as vetro in gabbia (“caged glass”) was used for lanterns and lighting. A bubble of molten glass is blown directly inside a metal cage, so that the glass expands against the rods and takes on their shape. The slight irregularities and small air bubbles are a natural result of this process and make each shade unique. VeArt refers to this traditional technique in their “Serie Loos” catalogue.
Many thanks to Max from AfterMidnight for all the pictures.
VeArt Loos Table Lamp
Materials: Round black lacquered wood base. White opal glass globe lampshade surrounded by a nickel-plated metal swirl cage (vetro in gabbia – caged glass). Bakelite E27 socket.
Height: 47 cm / 18.50”
Width: ∅ 50 cm / 19.68”
Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 100 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Anytypeof light bulb canbeused. Not a specific one preferred.
Period: 1990s.
Designer: Adolf Loos (1870-1933).
Manufacturer: VeArt, VE-ART, Via Moglianese, 30037, Scorzè, Venice, Italy.
Other versions: This VeArt Loos table lamp comes in 4 sizes. (20/30/40/50 cm) It is also made as a pendant lamp and flush mount or ceiling lamp in 2 sizes.
Adolf Loos
Adolf Loos (1870–1933) was an Austrian architect and one of the pioneers of modern architecture. He was born in Brno, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and spent several years in the United States in the 1890s, where he discovered the work of Louis Henry Sullivan and the Chicago School.
Back in Vienna he positioned himself sharply against the decorative language of the Secession movement. In his famous essay Ornament and Crime (1908) he argued that modern culture should abandon superfluous ornament and focus on clear structure, good proportions and high-quality materials.
Loos realised a series of influential buildings in Vienna and beyond, including Café Museum (1899), the American Bar or Kärntner Bar (1908), the Steiner House (1910), the Goldman & Salatsch building on Michaelerplatz, often called “Looshaus” (1910–11), the Tzara House in Paris (1926) and the Müller House in Prague (1930). These projects, with their restrained façades and carefully designed interiors, made him a key figure in the development of European rationalism and set the stage for later modernist architecture.
VeArt
VeArt, first written as Ve-Art was founded in 1965 by Sergio Biliotti and Ludovico Diaz de Santillana. Ludovico Diaz de Santillana was born in Rome in 1931. He graduated in architecture in Venice and he started teaching at the university. He married Anna Venini, the daughter of Paolo, the founder of the Venini glass company.
Ludovico Diaz de Santillana became the artistic director of Venini in 1985, after Paolo ‘s death. He died in 1989.
The VeArt company produced artistic glass and lighting. Mario Ticco was artistic director for a while. In the early 90s the brand was acquired by Artemide. The Artemide company used the brand’s name for a couple of years.
Designers that worked for VeArt are, among others: Tobia Scarpa, Renato Toso, Noti Massari, Toni Zuccheri, Paolo Zanotta, Ernesto Gismondi = Orni Halloween, Umberto Riva, Alfredo Giuseppe Righetto, Lino Tagliapietra, Roberto Freno, Luciano Bartolini, Adolf Loos, Luisa Calvi, Giorgio de Ferrari, Gigi Basso, Luigi Ghisetti, Umberto Riva, Sergio Asti, and Guido Rosati.
VeArt also sold lamps under the name VeLuce. They appear together in the same catalogues. The VeLuce lamps doon’t have names in the catalogues, only numbers. VeArt was the more fancy of the two. But the designs of VeLuce are certainly not inferior to those of VeArt.
VeArt Loos Table Lamp – 1970s Catalogue Picture
This catalogue page is made from a single, long, fold-out sheet, printed on both sides. Therefore, it has been scanned and cut into pieces for use on the website to keep it organized. On this page in the catalogue, all the lamps together; table lamps, pendant lamps, ceiling lamps.
VeArt Loos Table Lamp – 1970s Catalogue Picture
This catalogue page is made from a single, long, fold-out sheet, printed on both sides. Therefore, it has been scanned and cut into pieces for use on the website to keep it organized. On this page the VeArt bio about Adolf Loos, you can find it on this page, and two table lamps in 2 sizes. This page has been put back together after the scan.
