Set of 4 “MR” armchairs by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
790 €
Set of 4 “MR” armchairs by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The armchairs are made of tubular steel and black natural leather and are preserved in a very good shape.
The architect and designer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is one of the best-known exponents of International Style modernism. His “less-is-more” philosophy has become a catchphrase for much twentieth-century design, though a preference for luxurious and costly materials often underscores the deceptive simplicity of his elegant and refined designs.
Mies van der Rohe was the last director of the Bauhaus design school in Dessau, from 1930 until its closing in 1932. In 1938 he left Germany for America, where he headed the architecture department at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
The graceful, elegant, and beautifully proportioned “MR” armchair, developed from a 1924 design for a cantilevered chair by Mart Stam, was introduced by Mies van der Rohe at the 1927 Stuttgart exhibition and has remained in production ever since. The chair’s cantilevered design uses tubular steel, then a technological novelty, to create an intuitively accessible and ergonomic seat. (When asked why he created chairs with generously sized seats, Mies van der Rohe allegedly replied that he designs chairs he’d be most comfortable sitting in.) The MR Armchair is perfectly balanced, featuring the material innovation and lack of ornamentation that epitomize the International Style. It was awarded the Museum of Modern Art Award in 1977 and the Design Center Stuttgart Award in 1978.
In 1968 the Knoll group took the license to manufacture these chairs but both before 1968 and afterwards many factories have in fact produced these iconic pieces.
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Additional information
| Designer/Artist | |
|---|---|
| Design Period | 1924-1927 |
| Country of Origin | |
| Material(s) | |
| Color(s) | |
| Weight | Approx. 12 kg each |
| Dimensions | 81,5 x 54,5 x 82 cm (H x W x D), Seat height = 43 cm |
| Duties Notice | If your delivery address is not in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland, please be advised that import duty is not included in the prices you see online |
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About Mid-Century
The architect and designer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is one of the best-known exponents of International Style modernism. His “less-is-more” philosophy has become a catchphrase for much twentieth-century design, though a preference for luxurious and costly materials often underscores the deceptive simplicity of his elegant and refined designs.
Mies van der Rohe was the last director of the Bauhaus design school in Dessau, from 1930 until its closing in 1932. In 1938 he left Germany for America, where he headed the architecture department at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
The graceful, elegant, and beautifully proportioned “MR” armchair, developed from a 1924 design for a cantilevered chair by Mart Stam, was introduced by Mies van der Rohe at the 1927 Stuttgart exhibition and has remained in production ever since. The chair’s cantilevered design uses tubular steel, then a technological novelty, to create an intuitively accessible and ergonomic seat. (When asked why he created chairs with generously sized seats, Mies van der Rohe allegedly replied that he designs chairs he’d be most comfortable sitting in.) The MR Armchair is perfectly balanced, featuring the material innovation and lack of ornamentation that epitomize the International Style. It was awarded the Museum of Modern Art Award in 1977 and the Design Center Stuttgart Award in 1978.
Over the last twenty years of his life, Mies developed and built his vision of a monumental “skin and bones” architecture that reflected his goal to provide the individual a place to fulfill himself in the modern era. Mies sought to create free and open spaces, enclosed within a structural order with minimal presence.
Mies van der Rohe died on August 17, 1969. After cremation, his ashes were buried near Chicago’s other famous architects in Chicago’s Graceland Cemetery. His grave is marked by a simple black slab of granite and a large honey locust tree.
In 1968 the Knoll German group took the license to manufacture these chairs but both before 1968 and afterwards many factories have in fact produced these iconic pieces.
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