Wooden armchair
Armchair
1922 (designed), 1924 (made)
1922 (designed), 1924 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) is considered one of the most influential furniture designers of the last century. He was the first to incorporate tubular steel into furniture design. Steel went on to be one of the trademark materials of Modernism.
At 19 years old, Breuer was one of the youngest students to enter the Bauhaus. Joining in 1920, a year after the school's opening. He designed this wooden chair at the age of 20 and the design is strongly influenced by the Dutch 'de Stijl' group, in particular by the furniture of Gerrit Rietveld. It is a particularly notable example of Modernist furniture, more concerned with artistic expression than comfort. Breuer's 'Wassily chair', designed when he was 23, went on to become one of the world's most enduring and iconic pieces of furniture.
At 19 years old, Breuer was one of the youngest students to enter the Bauhaus. Joining in 1920, a year after the school's opening. He designed this wooden chair at the age of 20 and the design is strongly influenced by the Dutch 'de Stijl' group, in particular by the furniture of Gerrit Rietveld. It is a particularly notable example of Modernist furniture, more concerned with artistic expression than comfort. Breuer's 'Wassily chair', designed when he was 23, went on to become one of the world's most enduring and iconic pieces of furniture.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Wooden armchair (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Cherrywood, with horsehair and cotton upholstery |
| Brief description | Armchair; cherrywood with horsehair and cotton upholstery; designed by Marcel Breuer (1922), made at the Bauhaus (1924); Weimar, Germany |
| Physical description | A cherry wood chair with armrests and a cotton upholstered seat. The chair has two narrow strips of cotton stretched over two wooden frames to form low level and high level back support. |
| Dimensions |
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| Styles | |
| Gallery label | ARMCHAIR
Designed by Marcel Breuer (American, born Hungary, active in Germany and England, 1902-1981).
Made by the Bauhaus cabinetmaking workshop, Weimar, Germany
Cherry wood with horsehair and cotton upholstery
1922
Breuer designed this chair at the age of twenty while a student at the Bauhaus, probably the most important school of art and deign of the twentieth century. The design is strongly influenced by the Dutch De Stijl group, in particular the furniture of Gerrit Rietveld. It is a particularly notable example of Modernist furniture more concerned with artistic expression than comfort.
(Gallery label for 103-6, opened Jan 1989)(1989) |
| Object history | This particular example of the chair was owned by Dr. Georg Grieszner (1893-1969), from 1921 a leading teacher of theatre studies in Nuremberg and from 1945 Study Professor and Director of the Adult Education Centre in Nuremberg. In 1954 this chair was lent to the German National Museum (Germanisches National-Museum) in Nuremberg. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) is considered one of the most influential furniture designers of the last century. He was the first to incorporate tubular steel into furniture design. Steel went on to be one of the trademark materials of Modernism. At 19 years old, Breuer was one of the youngest students to enter the Bauhaus. Joining in 1920, a year after the school's opening. He designed this wooden chair at the age of 20 and the design is strongly influenced by the Dutch 'de Stijl' group, in particular by the furniture of Gerrit Rietveld. It is a particularly notable example of Modernist furniture, more concerned with artistic expression than comfort. Breuer's 'Wassily chair', designed when he was 23, went on to become one of the world's most enduring and iconic pieces of furniture. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.6-1988 |
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| Record created | May 2, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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