French floor lamp. Diabolo. For Lunel, ca. 1950.

French floor lamp. Diabolo. For Lunel, ca. 1950.
Steel, with red patina on the diffuser.
Manufacturer: Maison Lunel.
Measurements: 64 x 45 x 170 - 184 cm.

Large floor lamp type Diabolo with triangular base in patinated solid steel and double reflector articulated by ball joint. The red silk lampshade reproduces the original. The height adjustable stem is made of polished brass. It is a quality prototype of a type of mid-century lamps of French production in which designers such as René Mathieu (who worked for Lunel) and Pierre-Guariche stood out. Both of them created lampshades in the shape of the "diabolo" (a name that comes from the game with ropes and sticks), using elegant lines with metal as the base material.

Pierre Guariche was a French designer, interior decorator and architect best known for the residential lamps he designed for Pierre Disderot in the 1950s, but he was also an innovative furniture designer and architect. He studied at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs. He later joined the studio of another of his teachers, Marcel Gascoin. He began to exhibit his works at the Salon des Arts Ménagers and the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, avant-garde places where the most prominent designers of the time showed their works. René-Jean Caillette, Joseph-André Motte, Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, Antoine Philippon and Jacqueline Lecoq were some of the designers who exhibited their experimental works in the salons of the time. After World War II, interest in the use of new methods and materials for the mass production of furniture increased. In 1951, Guariche began collaborating with Steiner, another important furniture manufacturer. He designed the innovative "Tonneau" chair, with a plastic and aluminum version in 1953 and a curved plywood version in 1954. At the same time, Guariche made numerous models for lighting manufacturer Pierre Disderot, seeking a modern, simple and economical alternative to the opulence of traditional French designs.