Franco Raggi, for FontanaArte

FRANCO RAGGI (Milan, 1945) for FontanaArte, Milan.
“Flûte Medium” floor lamp, designed in 1999.
Clear borosilicate glass, chrome-plated aluminum reflector, and chrome-plated metal frame.
Indirect light adjustable via a dimmer.
Bears the FontanaArte logo and model number.
In excellent condition. Unused, from warehouse stock.
Measurements: 192 cm tall; 27 cm in diameter.

“Flûte” is one of Franco Raggi’s most refined designs for FontanaArte, the result of research focused on reducing the object to its essential elements. The long borosilicate glass body gradually flares out into a cone shape to house the chrome-plated aluminum reflector, which is slightly separated by three small metal supports and gives the impression of being suspended inside the transparent structure.

The transparency of the glass allows the structure, wiring, and lighting system to become visual elements of the design, while the reflector directs the light toward the ceiling, providing indirect and adjustable lighting. Raggi conceived “Flûte” from a place of minimalism, making the reflective surfaces the fundamental elements of a piece characterized by striking visual lightness. The series’ institutional significance is also reflected in the presence of a 1999 “Flûte Magnum” version at Quirinale Contemporaneo, installed in the Italian presidential complex in 2019.

Franco Raggi graduated from the Politecnico di Milano in 1969 and has been an active participant in the Italian architectural and design discourse since the 1970s, serving as an editor at *Casabella*, editor-in-chief of *Modo*, and curator of the design collection at the Triennale di Milano. His collaboration with FontanaArte has continued since the 1980s and includes the “Velo,” “Flûte,” and “Drum” collections. His works and projects are part of the collections of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, FRAC Orléans, and the Triennale di Milano; the MoMA in New York also holds his “On-Off” lamp.