Glowing design

We celebrate 50 years of Sintesi

The first lamps designed by company founder Ernesto Gismondi are still painstakingly hand-crafted to this day. This Christmas, we are delighted to pass on some of that magic: lighting that warms the heart.

What a stroke of genius! Launched in 1975, Sintesi continues to appeal to all those who value a simple yet bold table lamp. With its characteristic joints and intuitive folding mechanism, it can be set up step by step then folded back down again for ease of transport. Exhibiting an almost human jauntiness, it features long metal limbs and a bright lamp head beneath a black cage that offers protection from the heat. So what was the evolution of a lamp that manages so beautifully to balance technology with humanity? Company founder Ernesto Gismondi was an engineer who studied aerospace technology and was inspired by new technical innovations, a combination that invigorated the entire lighting industry. With Sintesi he came up with an instant classic that brilliantly combined pop art with an industrial look. Vintage editions have long been selling for four-figure sums, suggesting that it is high time for a new version to be produced. This year’s Christmas edition in red demonstrates a timeless sense of style.

Sintesi is one of the re-engineered “Master´s Pieces”, which showcase Italian design icons from the height of the “Dolce Vita” in the sixties through to the eighties. Their creators, Vico Magistretti and Ettore Sottsass, have enjoyed a lifelong friendship with Artemide and their founder Ernesto Gismondi.