The Staatliches Bauhaus, commonly known as the Bauhaus, was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts. The school became famous for its approach to design, which attempted to unify individual artistic vision with the principles of mass production and emphasis on function. Along with the doctrine of functionalism, the Bauhaus initiated the conceptual understanding of architecture and design.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German-American architect, academic, and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern architecture.
The International Style or internationalism is a major architectural style that was developed in the 1920s and 1930s and was closely related to modernism and modernist architecture. It was first defined by Museum of Modern Art curators Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson in 1932, based on works of architecture from the 1920s. The terms rationalist architecture and modern movement are often used interchangeably with International Style, although the former is mostly used in the English-speaking world to specifically refer to the Italian rationalism, or even the International Style that developed in Europe as a whole.
The Barcelona chair is a chair designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich, for the German Pavilion at the International Exposition of 1929, hosted by Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
The Barcelona Pavilion, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich, was the German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, Spain. This building was used for the official opening of the German section of the exhibition. It is an important building in the history of modern architecture, known for its simple form and its spectacular use of extravagant materials, such as marble, red onyx and travertine. The same features of minimalism and spectacular can be applied to the furniture specifically designed for the building, including the Barcelona chair. It has inspired many important modernist buildings.
The Wassily Chair, also known as the Model B3 chair, was designed by Marcel Breuer in 1925–1926 while he was the head of the cabinet-making workshop at the Bauhaus, in Dessau, Germany.
Marcel Lajos Breuer, was a Hungarian-German modernist architect and furniture designer. He moved to the United States in 1937 and became a naturalized American citizen in 1944.
Mart Stam was a Dutch architect, urban planner, and furniture designer. Stam was extraordinarily well-connected, and his career intersects with important moments in the history of 20th-century European architecture, including the invention of the cantilever chair, teaching at the Bauhaus, contributions to the Weissenhof Estate, the Van Nelle Factory,, buildings for Ernst May's New Frankfurt housing estates, followed by work in the USSR with the idealistic May Brigade, to teaching positions in Amsterdam and post-war East Germany. Upon return to the Netherlands he contributed to postwar reconstruction and finally retired,, in Switzerland, where he died.
Artek is a Finnish furniture company. It was founded in December 1935 by architect Alvar Aalto and his wife Aino Aalto, visual arts promoter Maire Gullichsen and art historian Nils-Gustav Hahl. The founders chose a non-Finnish name: the neologism Artek was meant to manifest the desire to combine art and technology. This echoed a main idea of the International Style movement, especially the Bauhaus, to emphasize the technical expertise in production and quality of materials, instead of historical-based, eclectic or frivolous ornamentation.
Karl Emanuel Martin "Kem" Weber (1889–1963) was an American furniture and industrial designer, architect, art director, and teacher who created several iconic designs of the 'Streamline' style.
The Brno chair is a modernist cantilever chair designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich in 1929-1930 for the bedroom of the Tugendhat House in Brno, Czech Republic. The design was based on similar chairs created by Mies van der Rohe also working with Lilly Reich, such as the MR20 chair with wicker seat from 1927; all building on earlier designs of Mart Stam.
The Tugendhat chair is a modernist cantilever chair designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in collaboration with Lilly Reich 1929-1930 for the Tugendhat House in Brno, Czechoslovakia.
Peter Ghyczy is a German designer of Hungarian origin, who lived in the Netherlands.
Modern furniture refers to furniture produced from the late 19th century through the present that is influenced by modernism. Post-World War II ideals of cutting excess, commodification, and practicality of materials in design heavily influenced the aesthetic of the furniture. It was a tremendous departure from all furniture design that had gone before it. There was an opposition to the decorative arts, which included Art Nouveau, Neoclassical, and Victorian styles. Dark or gilded carved wood and richly patterned fabrics gave way to the glittering simplicity and geometry of polished metal. The forms of furniture evolved from visually heavy to visually light. This shift from decorative to minimalist principles of design can be attributed to the introduction of new technology, changes in philosophy, and the influences of the principles of architecture. As Philip Johnson, the founder of the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art articulates:
"Today industrial design is functionally motivated and follows the same principles as modern architecture: machine-like simplicity, smoothness of surface, avoidance of ornament ... It is perhaps the most fundamental contrast between the two periods of design that in 1900 the Decorative Arts possessed ..."
Knoll, is an American company that manufactures office systems, seating, storage systems, tables, desks, textiles, as well as accessories for the home, office, and higher education. The company is the licensed manufacturer of furniture designed by notable architects and designers such as David Adjaye, Harry Bertoia, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Florence Knoll, Frank Gehry, Charles Gwathmey, Maya Lin, Marc Newson, Ini Archibong, Eero Saarinen, and Lella and Massimo Vignelli, under the company's KnollStudio division. Over 40 Knoll designs can be found in the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
The Tatra 12 is an automobile produced by Czech manufacturer Tatra between 1926 and 1933. It was replaced by the Tatra 57 in 1932.
Willem Hendrik Gispen was a Dutch industrial designer, best known for his Giso lamps and serially produced functionalist steel-tube furniture.
Arthur Justin Drexler was a museum curator and director of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for 35 years.
Werkbund exhibition – The Dwelling was an exhibition organised by Deutscher Werkbund held in Stuttgart between July and October 1927.
The Weissenhof chair is a chair designed by the German architect and designer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, in 1927. This first, springy cantilever chair was shown at the Weissenhofsiedlung Exhibition in 1927. It was made of 25 mm steel tube and with a wicker framework proposed by Lilly Reich. The MR20 version has forearms.
