Pietro Chiesa, lamp from the 1950s

PIETRO CHIESA (Milan, 1892-1948) for Fontana Arte.
Suspension lamp, Italy, 1950s.
Glass and brass.
Slight signs of wear on the patina of the brass.
Glass in perfect condition.
Measurements: 100 x 55 cm.

Ceiling lamp of minimalist and balanced lines in which prioritizes the reduction of shapes and materials. From a long conical central shaft in golden brass emerge soft structures that support the beveled glass lampshade.

Considered one of the leading exponents of Italian Art Deco, Pietro Chiesa worked as an apprentice in the studio of furniture designer and interior decorator Giovan Battista Gianotti in Milan. In 1921 he opened the Botega di Pietro Chiesa in Milan. In 1925 the Milanese designer showed his work at the "Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes" in Paris. In 1927 he joined Gio Ponti, Michele Marelli, Tomaso Buzzi, Emilio Lancia and Paolo Venini to found Il Labirinto, where high-quality furniture in the Novecento style was manufactured. There he concentrated mainly on glass design. In 1933 Chiesa became artistic director of Fontana Arte, the firm founded by Gio Ponti and Luigi Fontana. Fontana Arte began by concentrating on furniture and glass, but later became known for lighting. Pietro Chiesa treated glass as a valuable material, fragmenting it and using special cutting techniques. At the same time he created pure forms, such as the glass table of 1932, made from a single folded band of clear glass. In 1933 he designed "Luminator", an elegant flute-shaped floor lamp made of lacquered brass tube, which provided indirect light.