Gino Sarfatti

Born in Italy in 1912, Gino SARFATTI was the first born of a family from the wealthy commercial bourgeoisie of Venice.after classical studies, he attended the University of Naval Aviation Engineering in Genoa.in 1935, the family moved to Milan where, after experience in the art glass trade, Gino SARFATTI founded his own company called Lumen, with the slogan “rational illumination”. In 1939, he founded Arteluce with a few exhibitors and became the managing director of the Milan-based company, whose purpose was to create lighting fixtures, wall lamps and components, as well as furnishings. From the beginning, the lamps had no name but an identification number corresponding to their category. At the beginning of the war, the family left for Switzerland to escape racial persecution.In 1946, back in Italy, Gino SARFATTI opened a small office in Milan and began to develop a significant activity.In 1949, a new establishment was acquired: it became the definitive headquarters of the company.In 1950, Gino SARFATTI created in Rome, with his brother-in-law, the company ArCon (for Contemporary Art) which commercialised excellent brands. The company won international awards, including the Golden Compass in 1954 and 1955, for the models 559 and 1055.after several restructurings in the 1960s, Gino SARFATTI left the company in 1973 and retired for good in 1974.he is still considered one of the greatest lighting designers of the 20th century.