Elio Martinelli: the Italian master of lighting

In 2018, the highly regarded Martinelli Luce house, a reference of Italian design in the world of lighting, celebrated Elio Martinelli (1921-2004), its brilliant creator, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Cobra lamp. Elio Martinelli was the one who imposed the brand from the 1960s as one of the references of post-war Italian design. Martinelli Luce in fact owes much to its founder, who created lamps that have become icons of vintage design. A look back at some of the Italian designer's most iconic designs and the style he infused into his pieces.

Elio Martinelli was born in 1921 in Lucca, a beautiful walled city in Tuscany, located on the Serchio River between Florence and Pisa. After graduating as a set designer from the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Elio Martinelli began his career in his father's lighting company (Plinio) and already asserted a certain independence, as he worked independently on interior projects for restaurants, hotels and stores. His studies in scenography help him to design lighting for different types of interiors. While he didn't study design or architecture, he does know how to create stories and install moods around objects.

Elio Martinelli set up shop in a basement studio in Lucca's Piazza Bernardini. A precocious talent, Elio Martinelli decided to strike out on his own and founded his company, Martinelli Luce, in 1950. It wasn't until the 1960s that the lighting designer made a name for himself in the booming Italian furniture industry. Think that at the time the Italian contemporaries of Martinelli are named Ettore Sottsass, Marco Zanuso, Achille Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Franco Albini, Joe Colombo, Enzo Mari!!!

Elio Martinelli will considerably mark the Italian design of the 60s by designing a series of lights that have in common a great creativity and the use of new techniques. In 1960, he designed the ceiling light Bolla (Bubble in Italian), which evokes a drop that would form on the ceiling. The designer designs the body of the light in methacrylate, which gives it a delicate and satin appearance. Then, in 1962, he designed the Globo ceiling light, which resembles a half-ball with perfect sphericity, evoking a globe that would emerge from the ceiling.

After his first successes marked by a sensual and elegant design, Martinelli will definitely enter the legend of Italian and international design by designing 2 desk lamps that have become cult, and by agreeing to edit a model with improbable shapes that will become a worldwide bestseller. The year was 1965. Gae Aulenti (1927-2012), a 38 year old confirmed designer, entrusts the plans of her creation, a lamp with shapes that evoke a bat, to the Italian master. Who else, indeed, to realize and edit such a singular piece? Seduced, Elio Martinelli said yes and here was the career of the famous Pipistrello ("bats in Italian) lamp launched...

The same year, Elio Martinelli designed a very refined looking lamp that evokes a snake, hence its name: Serpiente. For this lamp, the maestro refined his model by observing the movement of animals. 3 years later, he did it again with the iconic Cobra lamp, which once again evokes the sinuous curve of a snake, with a design that is as sleek as ever, mixed with great ingenuity: the steel base of the lamp is connected to the upper part by a central joint that allows for 360° rotation.

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Other models are gradually enriching Martinelli Luce's catalog. Elio Martinelli's creative genius is wonderfully expressed in lamps, wall sconces, ceiling lights or suspensions, with the attention to detail and the will to produce a soft and adjustable light. Examples include the Tornado suspension, the Gomito wall or table lamp, the Foglia, Elmetto, Ruspa, Flex lamps. Elio Martinelli sometimes gives a poetic breath to his creations, as for the wall sconce Le Rondini (1984) or the suspension Nuvole Vagabonde S (1998).

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How would you define Elio Martinelli's style? He is a designer with a passion for geometric shapes and spherical curves. And he loves above all sobriety. His design is also marked by the observation of nature and animals. Elio Martinelli's style is representative of the golden age of Italian design, characterized by an organic geometry that is both rationalist and expressive. Moreover, he did not hesitate to experiment with new materials, such as methacrylate, which he evolved during the 1960s.

Despite the death of its founder in 2004, Martinelli Luce still continues to embody the elegance of Italian design thanks to its multiple collaborations with contemporary designers who respect the house's DNA. Among those who have and continue to participate in the success of the brand: Angelo Micheli, Marc Sadler, Brian Sironi, Studio 4P1B, Karim Rashid, Neil Poulton, ...

Emiliana Martinelli (1949), Elio's daughter, has taken over the family business. For many years, she has been the president of the group, wearing two hats: manager and designer, while also providing artistic direction for the house. As a designer, her talent is well known, with multiple awards obtained for the models she has created for Martinelli Luce. The Martinelli Luce story continues to be written...

François Boutard

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