Arteluce

Arteluce was an influential Italian lighting company founded in Milan in February 1939 by Gino Sarfatti. From the outset, the company positioned itself at the forefront of modern lighting design, combining technical innovation with a rational and functional design language that would strongly influence post-war Italian interiors.

Although Sarfatti himself was responsible for an exceptionally large part of the catalogue—designing several hundred lamps over the course of his career—Arteluce also developed into an important platform for many of Italy’s leading architects and designers. Through these collaborations, the company became closely connected to the broader development of modern Italian architecture and design, regularly exhibiting at major events such as the Triennale di Milano.

Among the designers who collaborated with Arteluce before the sale of the company were Franco Albini, Franca Helg, Antonio Macchi Cassia, Cini Boeri, Carlo Mollino, Vittorio Gregotti, Lodovico Meneghetti, Giotto Stoppino, Ico Parisi, Gae Aulenti, Vico Magistretti, Tobia Scarpa and Massimo Vignelli. The Arteluce catalogue ranged from highly technical lighting solutions to refined domestic lamps, many of which are now considered design classics.

Arteluce and FLOS

In 1973, Gino Sarfatti sold Arteluce to FLOS, a company founded in 1960 that had already gained international recognition for its experimental approach to materials and its close collaboration with contemporary designers. Following the acquisition, Arteluce was gradually absorbed into the FLOS structure, while a substantial part of the historical Arteluce catalogue—particularly designs by Sarfatti—remained in production under the FLOS umbrella.

For several decades after the takeover, the Arteluce name continued to appear within the FLOS catalogue, effectively functioning as a historical sub-brand that preserved the identity and legacy of Sarfatti’s work. Only around the beginning of the 2000s did FLOS finally discontinue the use of the Arteluce name, after which the remaining models were marketed exclusively as FLOS products.

Arteluce models still in production at FLOS

Following the acquisition, FLOS continued to produce a selection of the most important designs from the historical Arteluce catalogue. Several of these lamps, all designed by Gino Sarfatti, are still in production today and are considered cornerstones of the FLOS collection.

Among the most notable examples is the iconic chandelier Model 2097 from 1957, often referred to as the “Sarfatti chandelier”, which remains one of the best-known lighting designs of the 20th century. Also still produced is the suspension lamp Model 2065 (1950), along with a small number of other historically significant Arteluce designs that have been carefully reissued by FLOS using contemporary manufacturing standards while remaining faithful to the original concepts.

Designers after the acquisition by FLOS

After the acquisition of Arteluce by FLOS, the Arteluce name continued to be used for several decades as part of the FLOS catalogue. During this period, it no longer represented a single-author company, but rather functioned as a historical and experimental line within FLOS, open to new generations of international designers.

In the years following the takeover, a wide range of designers contributed to lamps that were developed, produced or marketed under the Arteluce / FLOS umbrella. Among the most notable names are Perry A. King, Santiago Miranda, Stephan Copeland, Ezio Didone, Matteo Thun, Rodolfo Dordoni and Pier Giuseppe Ramella.

These designers, along with many others, contributed to a period in which FLOS positioned itself as one of the most progressive lighting manufacturers worldwide. Although the Arteluce name was gradually phased out around the beginning of the 2000s, the experimental spirit and design culture associated with Arteluce continued to shape the identity of FLOS well beyond that point.