History Of The DeStijl Chair And Arts Movement

Editor: oldadk

High Design meets Natural Woods! Learn about the "Red and Blue" Chair, the deStijl Movement and its ties to the Adirondack Chair.

INTRODUCTION

Fleeing Victorian designs and discomfort, inventive furniture makers created their own unique versions of comfortable chairs. Perhaps best known are the "Red and Blue" Chair and the Adirondack Chair, icon which became symbols for comfort and simplicity.

THE DeSTIJL ARTS MOVEMENT

"De Stijl" is a Dutch phrase meaning "the style." The deStijl arts movement was centerd in Amsterdam during 1917-1932. Artists of the deStijl period were in search of a new utopian idea and dedicated to pure abstraction based on a quest for universal order and spiritual harmony and order. The movement is best known for its spare style that became known as Neoplasticism. The movement focused on pure and simple elements of artistic expression, including straight lines, right angles, basic geometric shapes and primary colors (mostly blue, red, and yellow and non-colors like black, white and gray). DeStijl works avoided symmetry and achieved aesthetic balance through opposition.

Signaling a radical departure from the tradition of late-nineteenth-century culture, the deStijl group rejected the naturalism of bourgeois art and its focus on the individual that was part of Romanticism. DeStijl was the solution the the age-old conflict between the individual and the universal.

De Stijl principles also influenced the architecture and other decorative arts, as demonstrated by industrial designer Gerrit Thomas Rietveld. This architecture use vertical and horizontal lines positioned in planes that do not intersect, keeping elements separate and independent. Rietveld is maybe best known for building the Schr๖der House in Utrecht in this style in 1924. It was considered to be the only building created completely from deStijl principles of design.

The works of De Stijl would influence the Bauhaus style and the international style of architecture, as well as clothing and interior design. After Van Doesburg's death, individual members remained in contact, but the deStijl group of artists did not survive. Many of the artists did stay true to the movement's basic ideas. Rietveld, for instance, continued designing furniture according to deStijl principles and is most well known in Rietveld's "Red and Blue" chair.

RED AND BLUE CHAIR

Architect Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (Netherlandish, 1888-1965)“scientifically” designed a chair in 1918 using formulas and calculations to arrive at his chair to keep one both alert yet comfortable. His work was part of the “deStijl” arts movement which focused on the essentials of form and design.

Fifteen years earlier, in 1903, Thomas Lee, from the U.S. Adirondack Mountain region in New York State, is credited for inventing the Adirondack chair as an alternative to uncomfortable Victorian chairs. In 1903, he nailed several pine boards together, testing the chair by trial and error with family members until the seat angle was just right. The chair had wide 4-inch arms, ideal for setting a drink or book, and a low center of gravity that made them very stable.

Although the two did not know each other, their resulting chairs have remarkable similarities of angle and design. The Adirondack Chair, with its deStijl commonalities, has seen many changes and adaptations over the past 100 years. One builder is quoted as saying, “A poor craftsman is one who imitates, a good one will steal.”

Gerrit Thomas Rietveld

Rietveld was born in Utrecht, The Netherlands in Born in Utrecht in 1888, the son of a cabinetmaker. As a young boy of 11, Rietveld was an apprentice craftsman in his father's workshop. At 23, Rietveld went out on his own as a cabinetmaker.

He attended architectural drawing classes given by P.J.C. Klaarhamer. In 1918, Rietveld became one of the first members of the De Stijl movement. His celebrated "Red and Blue" chair design was first published in "De Stijl" magazine, a publication of its parent arts movement. In 1923, the "Red and Blue" chair was included in an exhibition at the Bauhaus.

Rietveld's multi-colored chair was originally created for the Schroder house, also designed by Rietveld. It has geometric lines and bold colors that were born of the deStijl arts movement, evolviing from the Cubist design components. Rietveld's "Red and Blue" chair is now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Later, Rietveld completed his most important architectural commission for the Schroeder House in 1924. True to his neoplasticism roots, he started to design experimental fiberboard and plywood furniture in 1927. Some of these pieces were manufactured by Metz & Co. in the Netherlands. His universal focus was apparent during the depression, when he designed low-cost furniture constructed from packing-crated components.

Rietveld started designing with alternative materiasl, making a stamped aluminium chair in 1942 a line of chairs using bent metal components in 1957. His last chair design in 1963, the Steltman chair, saw the return of the use of solid wood elements and geometric formalism.

A SYMBOL OF BEAUTY AND COMFORT

It may look uncomfortable, but the deStijl and Adirondack chairs have become the symbol for their simple beauty and amazing comfort.

Look at these links for more info:

For more info on deStijl Architecture:
http://www.artandculture.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/ACLive.woa/wa/movement?id=112

The only Adirondack manufacturer of Adirondack Chairs using North Country White Cedar now offers a deStijl Adirondack Chair:

www.oldadirondack.com

MUSEUMS WITH EXHIBITS RELATED TO THE DeSTIJL MOVEMENT

• The Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum

• The Centraal Museum of Utrecht: has the largest Rietveld collection worldwide. It also owns the Rietveld Schröder House, Rietveld's adjacent 'show house', and the Rietveld Schröder Archives.

• New York Museum of Modern Art: Rietveld's "Red and Blue" Chair

OTHER DeSTIJL ARTISTS

• Max Bill (1908 – 1994) architect and designer

• Ilya Bolotowsky (1907 – 1981) painter

• Burgoyne Diller (1906 – 1965) painter

• Theo van Doesburg (1883 – 1931) founder, painter, designer and writer

• Cornelis van Eesteren (1897 – 1981) architect

• Jean Gorin (1899 – 1981) painter

• Robert van't Hoff (1887 – 1979) architect

• Vilmos Huszàr (1884 – 1960) painter

• Anthony Kok (1882 – 1969) poet

• Bart van der Leck (1876 – 1958) painter

• Piet Mondrian (1872 – 1944) painter

• Marlow Moss (1890 – 1958) painter and sculptor

• J.J.P. Oud (1890 – 1963) architect

• Amédée Ozenfant (1886 – 1966) painter

• Georges Vantongerloo (1886 – 1965) sculptor

• Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart[1] painter

• Jan Wils (1891 – 1972) architect

Categories: Decorating | Furniture