Gae Aulenti, La Torre, Martinelli Luce 1978

The exceptionally rare La Torre floor lamp designed by Gae Aulenti for Martinelli Luce in 1978. The lamp was originally created by Aulenti as part of the scenography for Luca Ronconi’s theatrical production of Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s La Torre (The Tower). Standing at over 1.8 meters tall, the lamp is an impressive artefact from Aulenti’s long standing relationship with the theatre and in particular, the director Luca Ronconi.

The lamp features an arcing metal post finished in a very dark green tone (which looks black in our images), on to which an opal glass shade is fixed. A smoky green polycarbonate sheet is wrapped loosely over the glass shade and held together with two large thumb screws. A wooden tube serves to both hide the joint of the metal parts and act as a hand grip so the lamp can be swivelled on its axis. A large circular screw on the head of the lamp can also be loosened to change the direction of the lamp shade and the light.

Between the years 1974 and 1995, Gae Aulenti worked on numerous theatrical productions in Italy. The play La Torre was part of Luca Ronconi’s “Laboratorio di Progettazione Teatrale di Prato,” an experimental workshop which had Aulenti as the key protagonist for research into new methods for theatrical expression. The workshop produced 3 shows: Euripides’ Le Baccanti, Pasolini’s Calderón and Hofmannsthal’s La Torre. Gae Aulenti won the Ubu Prize for the scenography for Le Baccanti and La Torre in 1978. More information on Aulenti’s collaboration with Ronconi can be found here.

The lamp is in excellent condition and perfect working order. The lamp uses a standard E27 light source which is not included in the sale.