Friday, June 3, 2011

Marcel Breuer

Marcel Breuer
Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) won a scholarship to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna but dropped out to enter the newly-established Bauhaus. While there, his Wood Slat Chair distinguished him among other students, and he became the director of the furniture workshop there in 1925.

The purchase of his first bicycle inspired him to experiment with tubular steel, which resulted in what is probably his best-known piece, the Wassily chair, which eventually took its name after Kandinski, who used one in his Bauhaus office. Many of Breuer's metal designs were used in the Bauhaus complex at Dessau.

In spite of the fact that he had little formal training in architecture, he opened an office in Berlin in 1928. In 1935 he moved to London to complete several architectural projects. While there he designed a line of plywood furniture for Isokon.

In 1937 he became a professor at the Harvard University School of Design, a position he held until 1946. Thereafter, he devoted himself to the full-time practice of architecture.

From lostcityarts.com

Slatted chair, manufactured by Bauhaus, 1921
moma.org
Wassily chair, 1925
designicon.co.uk
Laccio tables, companion to Wassily chair, 1925
steelform.com
Cesca cane armchairs and side chairs, 1928
houzz.com
S-285 desk, 1930
christies.com
Room divider/bookcase, 1932-1935
moma.org
Isokon Long Chair, 1936
kirkgallery.com
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2 comments:

  1. adrianeJune 5, 2011 at 8:42 PM

    I love those cane chairs. I feel like his furniture is so timeless... It all looks like it could have been designed today.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dana@Mid2ModJune 5, 2011 at 9:00 PM

    @adriane: I'd love to have one of the Isokon Long chairs. I could do some serious napping in one of those.

    ReplyDelete