Chair
1905-1906 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Richard Riemerschmid used this design of chair several times for different interiors. They were all for gentlemen's studies, or 'Herrenzimmer', in Munich, for example at the Thieme House (1906-6) and the Sultan House (1906). We do not know where this particular chair was originally supplied for, or who made it.
The chair shows how Riemerschmid's design ideas were developing. The construction of the chair is made very clear, especially the way in which the sides of the back drop down at an angle below the seat to form a three-sided brace with the vertical rear leg and the horizontal side stretcher, giving the chair strength. At the same time as he was designing this chair, Riemerschmid was developing furniture with components that could be manufactured by machines before being assembled by hand. The simplified shapes and decoration of this chair suggest that he may have intended these elements to be machine-made. Richard Riemerschmid is regarded as a precursor to and influence on the revolutionary ideas of the Bauhaus some fifteen years later.
The chair shows how Riemerschmid's design ideas were developing. The construction of the chair is made very clear, especially the way in which the sides of the back drop down at an angle below the seat to form a three-sided brace with the vertical rear leg and the horizontal side stretcher, giving the chair strength. At the same time as he was designing this chair, Riemerschmid was developing furniture with components that could be manufactured by machines before being assembled by hand. The simplified shapes and decoration of this chair suggest that he may have intended these elements to be machine-made. Richard Riemerschmid is regarded as a precursor to and influence on the revolutionary ideas of the Bauhaus some fifteen years later.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Oak and leather |
| Brief description | Chair, designed by Richard Riemerschmid, made about 1905-6, oak with leather uphsolstery |
| Physical description | Chair made of oak with padded leather seat and back panel. Between the front legs are two stretchers while broader plank-like panels join the front legs to the back legs. The sides of the back continue down below the line of the seat to form two diagonal brackets against the vertical rear legs, terminating on the broad side stretchers. Two narrow stretchers are between the rear legs. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | Twentieth Century Study Gallery 103-106
Riemerschmid used this design several times for the same room type, a gentleman's study (Herrenzimmer), in the Thieme House of 1905-6 and the Sultan House of 1906, both in Munich.(1989) |
| Credit line | Given by the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg |
| Summary | Richard Riemerschmid used this design of chair several times for different interiors. They were all for gentlemen's studies, or 'Herrenzimmer', in Munich, for example at the Thieme House (1906-6) and the Sultan House (1906). We do not know where this particular chair was originally supplied for, or who made it. The chair shows how Riemerschmid's design ideas were developing. The construction of the chair is made very clear, especially the way in which the sides of the back drop down at an angle below the seat to form a three-sided brace with the vertical rear leg and the horizontal side stretcher, giving the chair strength. At the same time as he was designing this chair, Riemerschmid was developing furniture with components that could be manufactured by machines before being assembled by hand. The simplified shapes and decoration of this chair suggest that he may have intended these elements to be machine-made. Richard Riemerschmid is regarded as a precursor to and influence on the revolutionary ideas of the Bauhaus some fifteen years later. |
| Bibliographic reference | Deutches Kunst und Dekoration, vol.22, 1908, p.165 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.334-1968 |
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| Record created | May 10, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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