The collection
Black floor lamp with a tripod base and long cylindrical stem with a bare halogen bulb at the top.
1955

Floor Lamp, Luminator

Designed by
Achille Castiglioni (1918–2002) and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni (1913–1968)
Material
Steel
Produced by
Gilardi e Barzaghi, Milan, Italy
Dimensions
180.3 x 48.3 x 40.6 cm

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, D85.171.1

This minimalist floor lamp reflects the interests of the Castiglioni brothers in combining the principles of structure, function, and modernist aesthetics. Here they used a simple, vertical steel tube whose diameter perfectly accommodates the socket for the reflector bulb that fits into its top, supported on a tripod of slimmer steel tubes. This elegant lamp projects light directly onto the ceiling to be diffused into the entire room.

The idea, inspired by photographers’ studio lighting equipment, became standard in progressive mid-century interiors. The designers were Italian architects and together created a wide range of industrial interiors and products from the 1930s on.

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, photo: Denis Farley.