Gino Sarfatti

Gino Sarfatti (1912-1985)

Gino Sarfatti was born in Venice in 1912 and studied aeronaval engineering at the University of Genoa.

In 1939, Gino established Arteluce. The firm soon became a national and international reference point for the modern architecture movement in lighting.

During his thirty-year career, Gino designed and produced over 400 lighting fixtures and stayed at the forefront of innovation related to typology, materials, production technologies, light sources, technical lighting effects, and design. He was a pioneer in the use of halogen bulbs, incorporating them into fixtures as early as 1971.

The designer and his company won numerous prizes and awards including the "Compasso d′Oro" in 1954 and 1955, and the Honorary Diploma of the Milan Triennale. Arteluce served as an important forum for many of the leading Italian designers in the 50s and 60s, including Franco Albini, Gianfranco Frattini, Vittoriano Vigano and Marco Zanuso.

He sold his company in 1973.
Even though he died in Gravedona in 1984, Gino Sarfatti’s lamps and lighting designs remain an iconic industry standard.