Thonet No. 14 Chair
Le Corbusier - Chaiselongue
Mies van der Rohe - Barcelona Chair
Charles Eames - Aluminium Chair
Arne Jacobsen - Chair
The No. 14 by Michael Thonet can be considered as the first representative of this new type of furniture, beeing sold 40 million times between 1859 and 1914 (!).
His technique was truly revolutionary: machine-formed rods of laminated wood were curved and bent under steam pressure, using strips of tin-plate to hold the stems and bend the wood beyond its natural elasticity without breaking. His forms varied from the simple to the highly decorative, setting a standard that forever changed the furniture industry.
Yet, the design did not yet particularly differ in style from the mainly handcrafted contemporary seatings influenced by the Biedermeier. The objectives of the modernist designers were truth to materials, universality of appeal through abstraction and the harmonizing of function and aesthetics. The renunciation of any ornamental and the use of geometrical forms is also shared by them.
Applying these parameters the Red and Blue Chair can be considered as the first truly modern chair.
The potential mass-production of inexpensive furniture by using steel as material was first explored at the Bauhaus by Marcel Breuer, Mies van der Rohe and by the "Esprit Nouveau-Movement" in France with Le Corbusier and René Herbst. The Cesca-Chair by Marcel Breuer and the Iron-chair by René Herbst and the Corbusier Chaiselongue are typical examples of this period.
It appears as an irony though, that the processing of steel was much too expensive in these days. The designs looked "machine-made", but were actually very labour-intensive to produce. While Mies van der Rohe as director of the Bauhaus had a yearly income of 5.000 RM, his Barcelona- Chair cost 520 RM! The labouring-cost of steel- furniture could be reduced to fractions since then, horsehair has been substituded by polyurethane foam and leather is widely available due to the increased consumption of meat.
After the 2nd world war, new technologies allowed the use of materials like molded plywood, cast aluminium and - little later plastic stepped on the scene. The Eames' Plywood and Aluminium Chairs and Saarinens Tulip Chair are typical representatives of mid-century design.
Mass production was no longer an issue, since the war had propelled the industry.
The typical 1950ies style remained en vogue until the late 60ies, when the first reeditions of Bauhaus and Modernist furniture were accepted by a small avantgarde. Their great success however came as late as in the 80ies, when sophisticated understatement became chic. All these designs appear to be "modern" though they were designed up to 80 years ago. By their timelessnes in shape and material and the distinctive character of each piece, the works of the modernist designers deserve to be called Modern Classics.
Rietvevld - Red and Blue Chair
Breuer - Cesca Chair
Charles Eames - Plywood Chair
Eero Saarinen - Tulip Chair
Isamu Noguchi - Coffee Table