Mies Van der Rohe was born in Germany in 1886. At the age of 19 he moved to Berlin, and starting working with the art nouveau architect and furniture designer Bruno Paul. Just a year later, he received his first commission for an architectural design for a local philosopher's home. Over the next 10 years he studied the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and Karl Friedrich Schinkel. By 1912, he had his own studio in Berlin.
In 1927 Mies Van der Rohe designed one of the design community's most famous buildings, The German Pavilion at the International Exposition in Barcelona Spain. In it contained one of interior design's most famous chairs, the Barcelona Chair. The Pavilion had a flat roof supported by columns, while the interior was constructed of glass and marble.
Mies Van der Rohe was Director of the Bauhaus School from 1930-1933. In 1937 he moved to Chicago where he became the Head of the architecture department at the Illinois institute of technology. During the next 15 years of his career, he designed skyscrapers for nearly every major American city.
Mies van der Rohe, designer of this cantilever armchair, the MR 20, is generally recognised as one of the founding fathers of Modernism, and the most purist of Modern architects. His work is characterised by a constructional clarity, free-flowing space and careful detailing, in accordance with his famous maxim "less is more." Mies van der Rohe ranks as one of the most important twentieth-century designers based on his range of designs - from the functional simplicity of the cantilever chairs to the luxurious comfort of the Barcelona Chair.
The Mies van der Rohe Cantilever armchair, also known as the Weissenhof chair, was first displayed at the Werkbund exhibition. His design was inspired by Mart Stam's design for a chair without back legs which did not function on the cantilever principle, and which had also been designed for the same pavilion.
Made in Italy.
Dimensions: H 32 1/2" D 30 1/4" W 21"; SH 18 1/2"; ArH 27"
Materials: Tubular chrome armchair with hide leather seat and back.
