Arteluce Fritz Desk Lamp

Materials: Black lacquered round base with a 2 positions switch; 50% and 100% light. Small long metal tubes/rods. Lampshade in white plastic and clear blue acrylic. External transformer 220 to 12 volt.

Height: 54 cm / 21.25”

Width: ∅ 15 cm / 5.90”

Electricity: 1 bulb bi-pin G4 halogen, 20 watt maximum, 12 volt (transformer 220 – 12 volt).

Period: 1980s.

Designer: Perry A. King & Santiago Miranda in 1987.

Manufacturer: Arteluce, Milan, Italy.

Other versions: The Arteluce Fritz desk lamp exists with a green lampshade.

This lamp is a first edition; patent pending is pressed on the bottom.

Perry King

Perry King is an English designer born in 1938 in the United Kingdom. King studied industrial design and moved to Italy in 1964 as a consultant to Olivetti. He takes part in the creation of the Valentine typewriter and the Sistema 45 with Ettore Sottsass. He was design coordinator for Corporate Image, his work included dot matrix fonts as well as books and posters, all designed with Santiago Miranda with whom he founded King Miranda Associati in 1976.

Santiago Miranda

Santiago Miranda was born in Écija near Seville in Spain in 1947. Miranda left to Italy in 1971 and he designed and wrote “Air Mail Transatlantic Pictures”, stories and images for an interactive park for lonely people, as well as working as a consultant to Olivetti. He was member of the Scientific Committee of the Istituto Europeo di Design (European Institute of Design – art academy) in Madrid and of the Scientific Committee of the University Pablo de Olavide in Seville, both in Spain. He is active in teaching and research.

Gino Sarfatti – Arteluce

Gino Sarfatti was born in Venice, Italy, 16th September 1912 and studied aero naval engineering at the University of Genoa. He founded his company Arteluce in February 1939 and sold it to FLOS in late 1973. Sarfatti retired and decided to live in his house in Griante on Lake Como.

Gino Sarfatti designed nearly 700 lamps for his company and was awarded numerous times for his designs, including the ‘Compasso d’Oro‘ in 1954. His first designs were created before he found his firm, between 1937 and 1939. Sarfatti passed away, 6 March 1985 in Gravedona, Como, Italy.

Today FLOS still produces his famous chandelier model 2097 from 1957 with 18, 30 and 50 light bulbs.

Designers that worked for Arteluce are, among others: Franco Albini, Cini Boeri, Franca Helg, Antonio Macchi Cassia, Carlo Mollino, Vittorio Gregotti, Lodovico Meneghetti, Giotto Stoppino, Ico Parisi, and Massimo Vignelli.