This year Artemide celebrates Tizio’s 50th anniversary with a new and special red edition of the iconic table lamp—the embodiment of aesthetic and function.
German industrial designer Richard Sapper is known for his designs that simplify technologically complex problems—from pneumatic structures for Pirelli to the first personal computers from IBM and Lenovo. In 1972 he designed the Tizio lamp. While much less technologically advanced than some of his other achievements, the design was made to suit Richard’s style of work, allowing him to move and adjust his light as needed.
Two counterweights allow you to freely direct the light, its small head moving in four directions with a pull or push of the hand and staying in place as set. Tizio’s arms conduct electricity to the bulb so any need for extraneous wires is eliminated, giving the lamp its clean aesthetic. The lamp earned the Compasso d’Oro award in 1979 and is now part of the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and of the Museum of Modern Art—plus, it features in our holiday gift guide of iconic designs for the home.
The late designer’s daughters Carola and Cornelia Sapper say their father’s designs are emblematic of technological innovation, movement, and elegance. His favorite tone had to have been black, they said, as he was known to say it’s a color that always looks good when put into contrast with other colors and environments—modern or vintage.
The Sappers say the special edition—there are just 5,000 of the new Tizio Red— represents both the symbolic accent in Sapper’s work and the color of Artemide. “And just like black, red looks good in any environment,” Carola says.
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- Ernesto Gismondi, the founder of Artemide, named the lamp as an allusion to Tizio, Caio e Sempronio, the Italian equivalent of Tom, Dick and Harry.
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- To accentuate the dynamic elements in many of his masterpieces, Sapper uses the color red as exemplified in the joints of the iconic Tizio lamp.
Photos courtesy of Artemide
