Angelo Mangiarotti

ANGELO MANGIAROTTI (Milan, Italy, 1921–2012) for Artemide, Italy.
Lesbo table lamp. Designed in 1967.
Hand-blown glass with an opal finish and a metal base.
In very good condition, with slight signs of wear consistent with its age.
Measurements: 37 cm (height); 52 cm (diameter).

The Lesbo holds an iconic place in the history of Italian lighting: Artemide itself considers it one of the symbols of “Made in Italy” design from the 1970s. Conceived in 1967, it belongs to a period in which Mangiarotti explored form as a direct consequence of the material’s qualities, avoiding the addition of unnecessary structure or ornamentation.

The focus is on the hand-blown diffuser, whose gradation of transparency partially conceals the light source and directs the light upward. The glass thus functions simultaneously as the body, the shade, and the light modulator, generating a soft illumination that highlights its thickness and artisanal variations. This integration of material, form, and function particularly clearly encapsulates Mangiarotti’s design philosophy.

Angelo Mangiarotti was an architect and designer who trained at the Polytechnic University of Milan and was renowned for his research into the structural and expressive possibilities of materials. He enjoyed a distinguished international career, and his work was included in the exhibition *Transformations in Modern Architecture*, held at MoMA in New York in 1979.