Joe Cesare Colombo

Joe Colombo was born in 1930 in Milan, Italy. He studied painting and sculpture at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, and later continued his education in architecture at the Politecnico di Milano, where he studied until 1954.

In 1955, Colombo joined the Art Concept Group, a collective of artists and designers exploring new forms of expression and experimental approaches. Around this time, he gradually abandoned painting in favor of industrial and product design, marking a decisive shift in his career.

In 1959, Joe Colombo took over the family business, a company producing electrical appliances. This experience allowed him to experiment directly with new construction methods, materials, and production technologies. By 1962, he had established his own practice, working in the fields of interior design, architecture, and industrial design.

Colombo designed lighting and products for many of the most important Italian manufacturers of the period, including Stilnovo, Oluce, Kartell, Alessi, Bieffe, Boffi, and Flexform. His work is characterized by a strong interest in modular systems, futuristic forms, and the integration of technology into everyday living environments.

For Stilnovo, Joe Colombo designed several influential lamps, including this Topo adjustable lamp (1970) and the Treiedo spotlight system (1970). Other notable lighting designs by Colombo include the Acrilica floor lamp (1962, Oluce), the Spider floor and table lamp (1965, Oluce), the Coupé desk and floor lamp (1967, Oluce), the JD27 desk lamp (1963, Oluce), and the Universale lighting elements developed in parallel with his modular furniture systems during the late 1960s.

Joe Colombo passed away in 1971 in Milan, on his birthday. He was only 41 years old. Despite his short career, his work remains among the most influential contributions to Italian post-war design and continues to be widely produced, exhibited, and collected.

Stilnovo

Founded in Milan in 1946 by Bruno Gatta, Stilnovo became one of the most important Italian lighting companies of the post–World War II period. From the very beginning, the company stood out as a symbol of modern lighting design and soon became synonymous with the idea of Made in Italy.

Before World War II, modern lighting concepts developed by the German Bauhaus, French modernists, certain Dutch architects, and Poul Henningsen were seen as a radical break from decorative historicism, favoring simplicity and functionality instead. In Italy, however, this modern approach only gained real momentum after 1945. With the exception of FontanaArte —whose lighting designs were shaped by Pietro Chiesa —and the companies Arteluce (founded by Gino Sarfatti) and Arredoluce (founded by Angelo Lelli), nearly all significant Italian lighting firms devoted to modern design were established only after the war.

Stilnovo was officially founded on June 1, 1946, by Bruno Gatta in Milan, with its headquarters located at Via Borgonuovo 18. The company was formally registered with the Milan Chamber of Commerce on June 22, 1946. Only a few months after its foundation, Gatta had already succeeded in making both his company and its lamps widely known. The first documented mention of Stilnovo appeared in October 1946 through an advertisement published by Gatta in the magazine Stile. By December of the same year, the first Stilnovo lamps were already being discussed editorially in Domus and introduced to an interested group of buyers.

Bruno Gatta, born in Milan on September 23, 1904, had gained substantial experience in production, business management, and innovation from an early age. His father, Dino Gatta, originally from Turin, had co-founded the company C.G.S. (Centimetro Grammo Secondo) in 1896 together with Camillo Olivetti and Michele Ferrero. C.G.S. specialized in the design and manufacture of electrical measuring instruments. In 1903 the company moved from Turin to Milan, and a year later it was incorporated into the Measuring Instruments division of Tecnomasio Gabella. In 1907, Olivetti withdrew from the company and Dino Gatta assumed leadership as president and manager. A year later, he became one of the founding members of Ing. Olivetti & C., created by Camillo Olivetti in 1908, holding key leadership positions in the decades that followed.

Bruno Gatta and his brother Paolo grew up in an environment shaped by continuous innovation and forward-thinking ideas. After 1945, the rapid electrification of Italian households created a sharp rise in demand for electric lighting. At that time, hundreds of small and micro-businesses in Milan produced handmade residential lighting, often characterized by opulent decorations, glass ornaments, glass bowls, and ornate fabric shades, catering mainly to an affluent middle-class clientele.

Gatta ’s decision to focus on modern lighting production was therefore a logical response to an emerging market, rapid social change, and a growing appreciation for a new design language. At the same time, it represented a considerable entrepreneurial risk, as Gio Ponti himself pointed out in the foreword to a Stilnovo catalogue. Nevertheless, Stilnovo quickly distinguished itself through a modern, forward-looking vision.

Unlike many competitors, Bruno Gatta understood early on the importance of marketing and public relations. From the start, he consistently placed advertisements in leading magazines such as Domus, Stile, and Casa e Turismo Arredamento, rapidly establishing a high level of brand recognition for Stilnovo. This strategic visibility, combined with strong design identity, helped position Stilnovo as a leading name in modern Italian lighting. Bruno Gatta was also the founder of Stilux, another famous Italian lighting company. More information can be found here.

In 1963, Bruno Gatta ’s children, Silvana and Dino Gatta, officially joined the company and were granted powers of procuration (legal signing authority). The book does not describe a specific creative or “head of design” role for Dino Gatta; his presence is documented as part of the company’s management structure.

By the late 1960s, despite ongoing commercial activity, Stilnovo faced increasing competition from firms such as Artemide, Flos, and Kartell, and the company’s identity became less sharply defined than in its early years. This period triggered a renewed push toward more progressive designs and material experimentation through collaborations with leading designers.

A milestone of that renewed phase is the Periscopio floor lamp (designed in 1967 by Danilo & Corrado Aroldi), which was exhibited in 1972 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York as part of the landmark exhibition Italy: The New Domestic Landscape.

Gaetano Sciolari and Stilnovo

During the 1950s and into the 1960s, Gaetano Sciolari played a central role in shaping Stilnovo ’s design identity. He acted as head designer and artistic coordinator, defining much of the company’s visual language during its formative years. Sciolari ’s work for Stilnovo is characterized by elegant proportions, refined use of brass and metal, and a strong architectural clarity. Under his direction, Stilnovo established a recognizable modern aesthetic that laid the foundation for the company’s international reputation in the decades that followed.

Over the decades, Stilnovo collaborated with a remarkable number of influential designers, including Gaetano Sciolari, Joe Colombo, Gae Aulenti, Alberto Fraser, Valentino Benati, Vittorio Introini, Ettore Sottsass, Danilo & Corrado Aroldi, Giorgio Longoni, Marcello Pietrantoni, Roberto Lucci, Cini Boeri, Jonathan De Pas, Donato D’Urbino, Piero Castellini, Carlo Villigiardi, Peter De Bruyne, Angelo Mangiarotti, Marcello Cuneo, Valentino Benati, Gianluigi Gorgoni, Paolo Lomazzi, Antonio Macchi Cassia, and Roberto Beretta, among others. Together, they produced a body of work that remains highly regarded for its technical innovation, formal clarity, and expressive use of materials.

For a substantial part of Stilnovo ’s early production, individual designers remain undocumented. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, many lamps were developed internally and presented solely under the Stilnovo name, without attribution to a specific designer. This reflects a common practice of the time, in which collective design processes and brand identity were emphasized over individual authorship, making precise attributions difficult or impossible today.

All original Stilnovo lamps are marked with the Stilnovo name; many early pieces also include the original sticker “Stilnovo Milan ”.

Stilnovo also collaborated with brands such as Metalarte from Spain, AMBA from Switzerland and Staff from Germany.

The company ended business in 1988.