Christian Dell

Christian Dell (1893–1974) was born in Offenbach am Main, located between Frankfurt am Main and Hanau in Hesse, Germany. From 1907 to 1911 he studied silver forging at the “Königlich Preußische Zeichenakademie” in Hanau.

At the same time, he completed a demanding apprenticeship as a silversmith, working from 1907 to 1912 at the Schleissner & Söhne silver factory in Hanau.

In 1913, Dell worked as a silversmith in Dresden before enrolling at the “Großherzoglich-Sächsische Kunstgewerbeschule Weimar” (Grand Ducal Saxon School of Arts and Crafts) in Weimar, where he encountered the Belgian artist and architect Henry van de Velde. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, van de Velde is considered one of the principal founders and representatives of Art Nouveau in Belgium.

After serving in the army during the First World War, Dell worked as a day labourer between 1918 and 1920. He then moved to Munich, where he was employed as a master silversmith by Hestermann & Ernst. In 1920, he relocated to Berlin to work for the silversmith Emil Lettré.

Bauhaus

Dell returned to Hanau, and from 1922 to 1925 he served as foreman of the metal workshop at the Bauhaus in Weimar, where he collaborated closely with the Hungarian constructivist László Moholy-Nagy. During this period, he produced numerous designs for office and workplace metal lighting fixtures.

In 1926, he moved to the Frankfurter Kunstschule in Frankfurt. There he designed a significant body of lighting, including the brass and nickel “Rondella-Polo” (1928–1929) table lamp series, which marked his creative breakthrough, and the “Idell” range. The latter was mass-produced primarily by Gebr. Kaiser & Co. Leuchten KG and later also by Bünte & Remmler.

At the end of 1928, several of Dell’s designs were featured in an exhibition at the Kunsthalle Mannheim, focusing on craftsmanship in the machine age.

In 1933, the Nazi regime forced him to leave the Frankfurt art school. Walter Gropius offered him a position in the United States, but Dell chose to remain in Germany.

After the Second World War, Dell resumed working in silver and opened a jewellery shop in Wiesbaden in 1948, which he operated until 1955. He passed away in Wiesbaden in 1974.

Several working and desk lamps designed by Christian Dell are still in production today and are manufactured by Fritz Hansen.

Metalarte

Metalarte was founded in 1932 in Canovelles, a town about 30 km from Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. The company started as a metalworking workshop and gradually evolved into one of the most important lighting manufacturers in Spain. From the 1940s onward, Metalarte focused increasingly on functional and architectural lighting, laying the foundations for its later design-oriented identity.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Metalarte went through a major transformation. The company renewed its catalogue and actively collaborated with external designers, embracing contemporary industrial design rather than relying solely on in-house production. In this period, Metalarte also distributed lamps by international manufacturers such as Louis Poulsen (Denmark) and Italian firms including Arteluce and Stilnovo, reflecting its strong international outlook.

Metalarte worked with a wide range of designers who played a key role in shaping Spanish lighting design, including André Ricard, Enric Franch, Josep Lluscà, Estudi Blanc, Josep Aregall, Òscar and Sergi Devesa, Antoni Arola, Lievore Altherr Molina, Ricard Ferrer, George W. Hansen, Héctor Serrano, Jordi Llopis, Ana Mir, Emili Padrós, Otto Canalda and Ramón Úbeda.

Several Metalarte designs from the 1970s became international references for functional lighting. A notable example is the Calder halogen lamp (1974) by Enric Franch, which is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

Today, Metalarte is part of the Luxonia Group, together with brands such as Troll and Sagelux. While this integration ensured continuity and industrial backing, it also marked the end of Metalarte as an independent, design-driven manufacturer rooted in its original Catalan context.

Gebr. Kaiser & Co. Leuchten KG

Gebr. Kaiser & Co. Leuchten KG, a Lichttechnische Spezialfabrik based in Neheim-Hüsten, was founded by Hermann Kaiser, who had come to Neheim as a worker from Heddinghausen. Together with his brother and a business partner, he established the company in 1895.

Initially, the company focused on producing nickel-plated and copper-plated lamp components for existing lighting manufacturers. Its economic breakthrough came with the development of a very inexpensive tinplate petroleum lamp. During the First World War, production was converted to war-related materials, including storm lanterns.

After the war, the manufacture of electric lighting fixtures was expanded, eventually becoming the company’s sole line of business. During the interwar period, the firm developed into one of the largest lighting manufacturers in the Neheim region, not least thanks to the lamps designed by Christian Dell.

By 1934, the company employed around 350 workers. This number increased to approximately 600–700 employees by the beginning of the Second World War.

During the Second World War, the production facilities were completely destroyed, partly as a result of the Möhne disaster in 1943. After the war, the company experienced a strong phase of expansion, temporarily employing between 750 and 1,000 people.

Towards the end of the 1970s, the company was acquired by the Thorn Lighting Group. In 1993, it became part of an international investment company, and the remaining production facilities were relocated to Dortmund in 2000.

Christian Dell 6631 Desk Lamp

Light blue Metalarte version.