Gino Sarfatti
Designer and entrepreneur with a training in aeronautical engineering, Gino Sarfatti (Venice, 1912 - Griante, 1985) is internationally recognized as one of the greatest innovators in the field of made in Italy lighting. From the second half of the '30s to the mid-'70s, he designed and manufactured adjustable lighting systems, and in 1939 he founded the lamp and furniture brand Arteluce with Maurizio Tempestini in Milan, which remained active until 1974. The company name emphasized its artistic character in forging new ideas applied to lighting, such as the use of semi-finished materials. These included above all the plastic coated electric wire, treated as a compositional element of the lamps and not concealed, together with other deliberately exposed elements, such as transformers and neon lights. In 1950, Sarfatti founded in Rome another company called ArCon, specialized in the trading of made in Italy furnishings, which remained active until 1973.