"Alcinoo" Pendant Light

While working under the polymath Gio Ponti — arguably the most important figure in 20th-century Italian modernism — furniture designer Franco Albini nurtured a love for modern forms combined with traditional craft techniques.

Albini is widely known for working with organic materials such as rattan and cane for his chairs and other seating, but he also played a pivotal role in the Italian rationalist movement of the early 20th century, which saw architects and furniture makers applying a strict emphasis on geometry in their work. Rationalists drew on Ancient Roman architecture but rejected ornament, much in the way that Le Corbusier and celebrated Bauhaus figures such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe had in their modernist furniture.

Albini received his degree in architecture from the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1929, and, in 1931, he founded his practice in Milan, where he tackled workers’ housing and other reconstruction projects. A gifted urban planner, he also developed the Palazzo Bianco, Palazzo Rosso and Tesoro di San Lorenzo museums in Genoa. While Albini is revered for his Margherita chair — a Triennale Milano award winner created for Bonacina in 1951 — he also collaborated with manufacturers Poggi and Cassina in the 1940s on seating, tables and more that embodied his artistic vision. Of that mid-century work, the one piece that perhaps best captures this vision is the iconic Luisa chair.

With its cherry red upholstery and sinuous wooden legs that seem to float aboveground, the Luisa is a genuine masterpiece. It is also a testament to Albini’s perfectionism, as it endured several prototypes — including one made by Knoll in the late 1940s — and took approximately 15 years to design. Poggi launched the final version of the armchair in 1955, earning Albini the prestigious Compasso d’Oro from Italy’s Association for Industrial Design. It is produced today by Cassina. Albini named the chair for someone who likely saw the process firsthand: his personal secretary of two decades, Luisa Colombini.

Find vintage Franco Albini furniture on 1stDibs.

Artemide is an iconic firm in the design world. The mid-century Italian company is one of the best known lighting manufacturers and its award-winning fixtures are held in museum collections everywhere. Vintage Artemide table lamps, pendants, ceiling lamps and other lighting represent a thoughtful merge between functionalism and eye-catching design.

Artemide, which is based in Pregnana, was founded by Ernesto Gismondi and Sergio Mazza in 1959. During that year, Mazza created the first table lamp for the manufacturer — a modernist work in glass, marble and metal that he called the Alfa. Gismondi, who studied aeronautical engineering at the Polytechnic University of Milan and missile engineering at Rome’s Professional School of Engineering, applied his knowledge of cutting edge technology and materials such as fiberglass resin to Artemide’s designs for lighting and furniture.

In 1967, Artemide won Italy’s Compasso d'Oro design award for its Eclisse table lamp, which was designed by Vico Magistretti two years earlier. Other award-winning fixtures include the Tizio table lamp designed by Richard Sapper and the Tolomeo table lamp.

Designed by Michele de Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina, the Tolomeo featured the patented George Carwardine mechanism used in the original Anglepoise lamp. De Lucchi would later be recruited to join visionary postmodern design collective the Memphis Group. Artemide’s Gismondi purchased the brand after founder Ettore Sottsass dismantled the collective in 1988, and it was bought by Alberto Bianchi Albrici in 1996.

Artemide’s list of design, innovation, sustainability and other industry awards is long and distinguished. The firm continues to actively collaborate with internationally revered designers and seek out new talent through workshops with design schools. The company’s deeply held values — energy-saving lighting, sustainable design and ethically sourced materials — characterize its current offerings, and Artemide furniture and lighting can be found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and other institutions.

On 1stDibs, find Artemide tables, seating, floor lamps, chandeliers and more.