HISTORY OF FURNITURE

PRE WORLD WAR TO MODERNISM

(1900-1945)
 ART NOUVEAU
(1890-1914)

 Starting in the turn of the 20th century Art Nouveau was the first conscious
attempt to develop a non-historical style of art and architecture
 - Considered the ‘anti-movement’ of historical style, Art Nouveau
flourished in France and Belgium but never succeeded as a permanent
style in design
 - Designers associated with the movement are Gaillard, Van de Velde,
Gaudi, Mackintosh and Tiffany
 - It encompassed architecture, decorative arts, graphic design, painting,
sculpture and is characterised by various stylistic features which vary
according to region.
 The primary characteristics of the style can be denoted by the
following features.

➜ Willowy lines

➜ Curvilinear shapes

➜ Superior quality of work, intricately designed

➜ Floral elements and inspiration from nature (birds and insects).

➜ Women as muses

➜ Available in both, wood and wrought iron

 The underlying principles of art nouveau furniture were based upon nature forms, and
eventually introduced designs which suggested the Gothic as well as Japanese curved
and sinuous tree trunks and idealized, elongated and exaggerated vines, and long
beautiful curves and series of perplexing and confusing spirals and corkscrew terminals,
which perhaps were not always suitable for furniture.

Display Case, 1900.

Oak, with metal and glass.
The glass top showcase shows the spare, abstract motifs, based on natural forms, that were
the hallmark of the style. Art Nouveau furniture was often made in tropical hardwoods, with
very delicate carving. On this display case, the same motifs have been carried out in a more
substantial fashion on the oak stand, which would withstand heavy use in a popular
commercial gallery
• The rise of art nouveau furniture dates its origin from 1878, when
a body of enthusiastic architects in Vienna, led by the Wagner,
produced a style of design arising from the use of natural floral
forms and an opposition to straight lines.

 Art Nouveau Chair, 1900.

Carved walnut, upholstered in embossed and stained leather.
This dining chair was shown at the Paris Exhibition of 1900 by the
entrepreneur and art dealer Siegfried (Samuel) Bing. In 1895
Bing founded a gallery in Paris, which he called L’Art Nouveau',
which showed modern design.
 Typical Art Nouveau furniture, as made in Paris, was unlikely to become popular in the
widest sense of the word due to its considerable expense. Its curved lines were costly, and
its irregularities, in which its beauty so largely consisted, force costs up at every stage of
making. But the Art Nouveau movement became the parent of an original style in furniture,
which retained the original ideals whilst eliminating the costly details. This is specially true
regarding the effect of Art Nouveau on the furniture of England and America.

It's a wrought iron table and

chair in the Art Nouveau
style.
FAMOUS ART NOUVEAU ARTISTS:

 GUSTAVE SERRURIER

MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES

Blackened Wrought Iron,
Brass
DIMENSIONS
37.4 in.Hx28.35 in.Wx11.81 in D
95 cmHx72 cmWx30 cm D
 CUPBOARD- Gustave Serrurier-Bovy

MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES

Painted Iron,
Poplar
DIMENSIONS
81.89 in.Hx38.98 in.Wx17.32 in D
208 cmHx99 cmWx44 cm D
 Calvet Armchair-Antoni Gaudi

MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES

Varnished Oak
DIMENSIONS
37 in.Hx25 in.Wx20 in. D
94 cmHx64 cmWx51 cm D
SEAT HEIGHT
19.25 in. (49 cm)
Chair-sculpture Calvet (Antoni Gaudi)

Width 520 mm

Height 940 mm

Depth 540 mm

Seat finish without upholstery

Height of
450 mm
seat

Base finish with legs

Backrest
without back padding
finish

Armrest
without armrests
finish

Material wood (unspecified)

Colors shades of brown

 Henry van de Velde

Medium:
Oak, upholstery DIMENSIONS
27.5 in. H
70 cm H
Dimensions: DIAMETER
H.37-3/8, W.20-1/8, D.21 inches (94.9 x 51.1 x 53.3 cm.) 38 in. (97 cm)
 Josef Hoffmann (famous for designing
chairs)

MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES

Beech
DIMENSIONS
30 in.Hx22.5 in.Wx22.5 in. D
76 cmHx57 cmWx57 cm D
SEAT HEIGHT
18 in. (46 cm)
 ART DECO
(1920-1930)

 Affected all “decorative arts,” including architecture, interior design,

industrial design, as well as visual arts such as fashion, painting, graphic
arts, and film.
 The name came from the 1925 Exposition international des arts decoratifs
industriels et moderne, held in Paris which celebrated living in the
modern world.
 Art Deco's ultimate aim was to end the old conflict between art and
industry, the old snobbish distinction between artist and artisan, partly by
making artists adept at crafts, but still more by adapting design to the
requirements of mass-production.
 The primary characterstics of the style can be denoted by the following features.
o Smooth, streamlined lines, geometrical patterns, and experimental use of industrial
materials such as metals, plastics, and glass. Art deco furniture is modern and functional.
o Art deco design is recognizable because of three main things: distinct geometric shapes,
intense, bright colours that stand out, and a decorative look.
o Art Deco is characterized by a linear, hard edge or angular composition, often with a
vertical emphasis, and highlighted with stylized decoration
o The Art Deco movement is also characterized by clean lines, streamlining, and symmetry.
o Art Deco works exhibit abstraction, distortion, & simplification, particularly geometric
shapes & highly intense colour
FAMOUS ART DECO ARTISTS
Le Corbusier
He was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the
Le Corbusier
pioneers of what is now called modern architecture.

Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann

He was restrictive in the use of ornamentation, he fashioned his furniture pieces and interior
decorations of the finest and expensive materials like exotic woods, ivory, lacquer, and
precious metals. Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann was certainly the favourite artists of the post-war.
ART DECO FURNITURE

CHAIR
 ART DECO CHAIRS TYPICALLY FEATURE CURVED LINES AND ORGANIC,
HUMANLIKE FORMS. THESE CURVES ARE OFTEN JUXTAPOSED AGAINST
ANGULAR LINES, CREATING THE ATTRACTIVE CONTRAST THAT WAS
CHARACTERISTIC OF ART DECO DESIGN.
CABINETS
 ART DECO CABINETS ARE GENERALLY VERY LARGE, RIGID, AND OFTEN
COMPOSED OF LACQUERED WOOD. MANY CRAFTSMEN LEFT THE WOOD
NATURAL TO SHOW THE DISTINCTIVE GRAINS OF EXOTIC TIMBERS.
Modernism

 Born from the Bauhaus and Art Deco streamline styles came the post WWII.
 Modern style using materials developed during the war including laminated plywood,
plastics and fibreglass.
 In modern furniture the dark gilded, carved wood and richly patterned fabrics gave way
to the glittering simplicity and geometry of polished metal.
 The forms of modern furniture sought newness, originality, technical innovation, and
ultimately conveyed the present and the future, rather than what had gone before it as
revival styles had done.
 This interest in new and innovative materials and methods produced a certain blending
of the disciplines of technology and art. The use of new materials, such as steel in its many
forms; moulded plywood and plastics, were formative in the creation of these new
designs.
 They were considered pioneering, even shocking at the time especially in contrast to
what came before.
MODERNISM

 Modern furniture refers to furniture produced from the late 19th century
through the present that is influenced by modernism. Post-World War
II ideals of cutting excess, commodification, and practicality of materials in
design heavily influenced the aesthetic of the furniture. It was a
tremendous departure from all furniture design that had gone before it.
There was an opposition to the decorative arts, which included Art
Nouveau, Neoclassical, and Victorian styles. Dark or gilded carved wood
and richly patterned fabrics from the gave way to the glittering simplicity
and geometry of polished metal. The forms of furniture evolved from
visually heavy to visually light. This shift from decorative to minimalist
principles of design can be attributed to the introduction of new
technology, changes in philosophy, and the influences of the principles of
architecture
The use of new materials, such as steel in its many forms; glass, used by Walter Gropius; molded
plywood, such as that used by Charles and Ray Eames; and of course plastics, were formative in
the creation of these new designs. They would have been considered pioneering, even shocking in
contrast to what came before. This interest in new and innovative materials and methods -
produced a certain blending of the disciplines of technology and art. And this became a working
philosophy among the members of the Deutscher Werkbund. The Werkbund was a government
sponsored organization to promote German art and design around the world. Many of those
involved with it including Mies van der Rohe, Lilly Reich and others, were later involved in
the Bauhaus School, and so it is not surprising perhaps that the Bauhaus School took on the
mantle of this philosophy. They evolved a particular interest in using these new materials in such a
way that they might be mass-produced and therefore make good design more accessible to the
masses.
MARCEL BREUER'S WASSILY CHAIR

• This modernist creation is perhaps one of the most iconic furniture designs of all time.
The Wassily Chair, also known as the Model B3 chair, was designed by Marcel Breuer in 1925-
26 at the Bauhaus, in Dessau, Germany.
• This piece is particularly influential because it introduces a simple, yet elegant and light-weight
industrial material to be used in structures within the domestic space: chrome plated tubular
steel, inspired by the handles of Breuer's bicycle. He reasoned that if such a material was
light-weight yet strong enough to support the body in motion, it is likely to be able to support
the body at rest.
• The design of the chair is revolutionary with its use of symmetrical, geometric planes framed
by the tubular steel. Breuer uses simple straps of canvas for the seat, back and arm rests to
support the seated figure.
• Nonetheless, the Model B3 Chair (dubbed the Wassily Chair by the manufacturing company,
Gavina after learning of the anecdote involving the painter Wassily Kandinsky) inspired many
artists and designers to include the use of chrome plated steel, including Le Corbusier, who
includes it as a structure for his Chaise Longue.
Inspired by Marcel Breuer's use of chrome plated
tubular steel in his Wassily Chair, in 1928, Le Corbusier
creates a sleek steel support for the back and seat of
his Chaise Longue. The Chaise Longue features a
movable seat section and an adjustable head rest,
which is an early example of ergonomic design. With
the tubular steel frames and leather or skin
upholstery, the sleek Chaise Longue were initially
manufactured for private French house commissions
including the Villa Savoye, Poissy (1929–31) and the
Ville d'Avray. This piece epitomizes the mass LE CORBUSIER CHAISE LONGUE
production of the industrial age through the use of
materials and structure. However, unlike the Wassily
Chair, the complex design made reproduction
expensive