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ET WITH the impossible task of covering Italian lighting in the one issue, instead, I’ve chosen to delve into the works of the one design genius – Gaetano Sciolari. It’s fair to say it’s not a name that trips off the tongue, and as a Vintage lover, you may not even have ever heard of him. But one look at his transformational chandelier-style light fittings and you’ll be shouting – “Oh him!” Italian lighting design has a rich and extensive history, with tradition and innovation being the twin engines that keep Italy ‘up there’ as one of the world leaders in lighting design. Sciolari Lighting in Rome boast that their customers have “for over a hundred years come to us to be enlightened” – but
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Light Fantastico GET SWITCHED ON TO GAETANO SCIOLARI – ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST STARS OF ITALIAN MID-CENTURY DESIGN. By Karyn Sparks it was their most famous scion Gaetano, who really notched things up Mid-century! As well as creating lighting for the family firm, the genius Italian was also in demand by other big lighting manufacturers, such as Stilnovo in Milan, and Lightolier in New York. As befits a designer in the 1950s, Gaetano’s first lights were Atomic-inspired pendants, but by the 60s he had shifted back to the grand manner of his native land, transforming the chandelier form with refined, edgy and futuristic execution. Lines were clean and sculptural, and materials such as crystals and ice-glass, combined sparkle with cool. As seen in the Neoclassical Sciolari, Gaetano’s inspiration may have been traditional but his invention was anything
but. He playfully positioned satin finishes against highly polished metal to wonderful visual effect, and he wasn’t afraid to break the rules – combining brass with chrome, for example, to bring out the very best in both metals. By the early 1970s, Americans hungry for Sciolari’s European style could find it in the catalogues of Lightolier and Progress Lighting; while his collections such as the Geometric, Habitat, Scultura and Futura, have been well-documented in the lighting and design books of top-notch German art publisher Taschen. Today, his lighting is highly sought after by interior designers who are looking to combine minimalism with high-end glamour – and Gaetano Sciolari certainly has it in abundance!
ve / April-May 2015 / 23