Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, Barcelona chair

LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE (Germany, 1886 - USA, 1969) for KNOLL.
Armchair "Barcelona". Designed for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition.
Chrome frame and loose cushions upholstered in brown buttoned leather.
Lower upholstery with brown harness leather straps.
With maker's label, Knoll International.
Condition: intact, unused. In original packaging.
Literature: C. & P. Fiell. 1000 chairs. Mentioned and illustrated on p. 172.
Measurements: 80 x 75 x 70 cm. approx.; 84 x 88 x 88 cm. (original packaging).

The Barcelona chair (model MR90) is a classic work of 20th century industrial design. Mies van der Rohe created it, together with the ottoman and matching side table, for the German pavilion at the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, a building that was itself a milestone in the architecture of the last century. The chairs were so admired that they were used as thrones for the kings of Spain when they visited the Barcelona pavilion. They were seats with a structure made entirely of polished stainless steel, with the seat and backrest entirely covered with pigskin upholstery. Later, in 1950, some adjustments would be made to the design for mass production. Van der Rohe based his creation, in his personal line of modern classicism, on the "sella curulis", a type of seat used by Roman magistrates in antiquity. On the other hand, the visible joining of the stretcher frame and seat cushions as separate components, and the combined use of traditional and modern materials, appropriately adjusted to their function, eloquently reveal Mies' personal vision of international style. Today both the Barcelona chair and the matching ottoman and side table are still in production by Knoll, the firm that purchased the license from the architect in 1953. Modern models are produced in two different steel configurations, and in various types of leather in different colors. Examples of the Barcelona chair are now held in important collections around the world, including the MoMA in New York.
An architect and industrial designer, Mies van der Rohe trained with Bruno Paul and Peter Behrens, and opened his own studio in Berlin in 1912. Between 1930 and 1933 he directed the Bauhaus in Dessau, although the political situation in Germany soon after forced him to emigrate to the United States. There he continued his brilliant career, teaching at the Illinois Technology Institute in Chicago. During his career he designed emblematic buildings mainly in Germany and the United States, especially his skyscrapers in New York and Chicago, the German Pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, and the NeueNationalgalerie in Berlin.