Chair
1927 (designed), ca. 1931 (manufactured)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This chair was originally owned by the painter Charley Toorop (Annie Caroline Pontifex, 1891-1955), a friend of Rietveld's and fellow member of the loosely associated group know as ASB (Architectuur, Schilderkunst, Beeldhouwkunst). The chair was part of the original furnishings of the dining room in her house ('De Vlerken') in Bergen (The Netherlands), the interior of which was designed by Rietveld in 1931. A published illustration shows a set of at least five of these chairs in the room.
The chair was designed in 1927, and forms part of a group of chairs made of tubular steel (the prototype was made of iron) with single-piece plywood seats. With this, Rietveld joined the trend among avant-garde architects of designing furniture in tubular steel. His particular innovation was the use of the single-piece back and seat, a design idea which Alvar Aalto would develop further a few years later. The chair was designed for mass production and, starting about 1930, production began for the Metz & Co department store. Rietveld used the chair extensively in his interiors during the 1930s.
The chair was designed in 1927, and forms part of a group of chairs made of tubular steel (the prototype was made of iron) with single-piece plywood seats. With this, Rietveld joined the trend among avant-garde architects of designing furniture in tubular steel. His particular innovation was the use of the single-piece back and seat, a design idea which Alvar Aalto would develop further a few years later. The chair was designed for mass production and, starting about 1930, production began for the Metz & Co department store. Rietveld used the chair extensively in his interiors during the 1930s.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Plywood, painted; tubular steel, painted |
| Brief description | Chair, designed by Gerrit Rietveld, 1927; manufactured by Metz & Co., ca. 1931; white painted plywood seat and back on a grey painted tubular steel frame; formerly in the collection of Charley Toorop |
| Physical description | Chair with seat and back made of a continuous piece of white painted plywood, mounted on a grey painted tubular steel frame. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Purchased with funds provided by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation |
| Summary | This chair was originally owned by the painter Charley Toorop (Annie Caroline Pontifex, 1891-1955), a friend of Rietveld's and fellow member of the loosely associated group know as ASB (Architectuur, Schilderkunst, Beeldhouwkunst). The chair was part of the original furnishings of the dining room in her house ('De Vlerken') in Bergen (The Netherlands), the interior of which was designed by Rietveld in 1931. A published illustration shows a set of at least five of these chairs in the room. The chair was designed in 1927, and forms part of a group of chairs made of tubular steel (the prototype was made of iron) with single-piece plywood seats. With this, Rietveld joined the trend among avant-garde architects of designing furniture in tubular steel. His particular innovation was the use of the single-piece back and seat, a design idea which Alvar Aalto would develop further a few years later. The chair was designed for mass production and, starting about 1930, production began for the Metz & Co department store. Rietveld used the chair extensively in his interiors during the 1930s. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.14-2005 |
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| Record created | August 25, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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