Rietveld Schröder House
Dolls' House
2002 (made)
2002 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The house was made by John Aldus for his daughter Noémie in 2002. It is a copy in miniature of the famous Schröder House in Utrecht in which was designed by Gerrit Rietveld in 1924. Rietveld was an exponent of De Stijl, a Dutch art movement that focused on form and colour to achieve a pure abstraction. Colours were limited to black, white, and grey and the primary colours red, yellow, and blue. Rietveld also pioneered open-plan living, with his creative, flexible use of space, something which has become more common in the modern homes of today.
The dolls' house is painted predominately grey in keeping with the original building. It was designed to be played with and this is reflected in the quality of the build and how the front of the building can be opened allowing access to the rooms behind.
The dolls' house is painted predominately grey in keeping with the original building. It was designed to be played with and this is reflected in the quality of the build and how the front of the building can be opened allowing access to the rooms behind.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Rietveld Schröder House (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Painted wood and metal, perspex |
| Brief description | Dolls' house based on Gerrit Rietveld's Schröder House made in England by John Aldus in 2002. |
| Physical description | Dolls' house made from wood and metal with perspex glazing. The house is painted in shades of grey and white with small details picked out in red, blue, and yellow. The building has a flat roof with a chimney and rectangular roof lantern painted white. The front of the house can be pulled out and the sides can be opened to allow access to the rooms behind. The house has two floors laid out in an open-plan style. The rooms are painted but unfurnished. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Production type | Unique |
| Credit line | Given by Noémie Ducimetiere |
| Object history | The house was made by John Aldus, a practising visual artist, for his daughter Noémie. It was clearly intended to be used as a plaything and not as an architectural model. Historical significance: This house is a fine copy of the Schröder House which stands in Utrecht, The Netherlands and is considered an icon of the Modernist Movement in architecture. The Schröder House was designed by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld for Truus Schröder in 1924 and is based on the principles of De Stijl, using only primary colours in combination with white, grey, and black. Other artists associated with De Stijl include Piet Mondrian and Bart van der Leck. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | The house was made by John Aldus for his daughter Noémie in 2002. It is a copy in miniature of the famous Schröder House in Utrecht in which was designed by Gerrit Rietveld in 1924. Rietveld was an exponent of De Stijl, a Dutch art movement that focused on form and colour to achieve a pure abstraction. Colours were limited to black, white, and grey and the primary colours red, yellow, and blue. Rietveld also pioneered open-plan living, with his creative, flexible use of space, something which has become more common in the modern homes of today. The dolls' house is painted predominately grey in keeping with the original building. It was designed to be played with and this is reflected in the quality of the build and how the front of the building can be opened allowing access to the rooms behind. |
| Bibliographic reference | Pasierbska, Halina. Dolls' Houses: From the V&A Museum of Childhood. London: V&A Publishing, 2008, p.51
ISBN 9781851775460 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | B.1-2007 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | March 9, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
