Gino Sarfatti

The legendary lighting designer Gino Sarfatti was born in Venice in 1912 and studied aero-naval engineering at the University of Genoa as a young man. When his studies were interrupted by financial problems, Gino moved to Milan and took a sales job at a glass company, “a twist of fate that undoubtedly informed his ultimate career path. ”

In 1939, Gino founded Arteluce, a lighting workshop that soon became a national and international reference point for the modern architecture movement in lighting. Though he would flee to Switzerland during the Second World War, he would rebuild the workshop when he returned to Milan in 1945. Arteluce became a meeting place and an important forum for many of the leading Italian designers in the 1950s and 1960s.

Active for nearly three decades, Gino renovated and updated traditional typologies and invented new functions for light, designing over 600 lamps and light fittings that were all produced by Arteluce. During his career, Gino was honored with various awards, including the Compasso d'Oro in 1954 and 1955, and the Honorary Diploma of the Milan Triennale.

In late 1973, Gino decided to sell Arteluce to Flos, and he retired to live in his house in Griante on Lake Como. He died at Gravedona in 1984.

To mark the 52nd Milan Design Week and the bi-annual Euroluce, FLOS introduced its first special re-edition of five historical models designed in the 50s, 60s and 70s by the great designer and entrepreneur. Gino’s legacy lives fiercely on.