Best known for his Red and Blue chair, a modernist icon created using only two plywood plates and 15 connecting bars, Dutch designer Gerrit Thomas Rietveld trained as a cabinetmaker, and his bold vision for furniture was supported by his expertise in construction and craftsmanship.
Born in Utrecht, Rietveld learned goldsmithing in addition to the cabinetry apprenticeship he had in his carpenter father’s workshop. He studied draftsmanship with architect Piet Klaarhamer at the Utrecht Museum of Applied Arts and opened his own furniture workshop in 1917. In the 1930s, Rietveld began to experiment with then-unusual materials like plywood and aluminum, and he pursued intellectual concepts through his design, even considering a seat as a resting place for the body and the soul.
Designed in 1918, the minimalist Red and Blue chair is widely coveted by collectors and gained admirers in the likes of legendary American sculptor and designer Donald Judd over the years. (Examples of Rietveld’s designs can be found in Judd’s restored home-museum in New York City.) The Red and Blue chair is so stunning in its geometric simplicity that it is one of the most important symbols of the Dutch art and design movement of the early 20th century called De Stijl, of which Rietveld was an important part. De Stijl means “the Style” and was an effort to express utopian values through pure abstraction in design and the use of primary colors.
Another example of Rietveld’s celebrated seating furniture is the Zig-Zag chair, which was commissioned by the Dutch department store Metz & Co. and intended to be mass-produced. The resulting design — to which the rights to manufacture were bought by Cassina in 1971 — is the essence of the De Stijl movement and an example of Rietveld’s experiments with jointless chairs made from a single material, wood. The Zig-Zag chair’s armless, legless, elegant form is pure abstraction, yet it is also sturdy and comfortable.
Later in his career, Rietveld worked more often as an architect, designing buildings in prestigious settings like the Venice Biennale. He was a pioneer in more ways than one: The first building he designed, Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht in 1924, is a radically modern space and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.
Find vintage Gerrit Rietveld furniture on 1stDibs.
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld Modernist Unique Bookcase, circa 1930, Netherlands
By Gerrit Rietveld
Located in Brussels, BE
Exceptional and unique piece by G.T. Rietveld. This wall bookcase was designed for the home of the Dutch poet and writer Gabriel Smit, c. 1930. Gabriel Smit was a regular at the arti...
Metal
Oak Art Deco Modernist Open Bookcase, 1920s
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Stunning and elegant Art Deco Modernist open bookcase. Striking Dutch design from the 1920s. Solid oak and original oak veneered base with original macassar ebony veneer. In very goo...
Macassar, Oak
1930s Art Deco Modernist Bookcase, Solid Oak with Glass Doors
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Stunning and elegant Art Deco Modernist bookcase with glass sliding doors on top. Striking Dutch design from the 1930s. Solid oak and oak veneer base with doors with the original ebo...
Glass, Ebony, Oak
Biedermeier Bookcase, circa 1815/20
Located in Greding, DE
Biedermeier bookcase veneered in cherrywood with ebonized columns and moldings. The cabinet stands on slightly curved S-shaped legs and is glazed over approximately three quarters of...
Glass, Cherry, Burl
$2,250
H 30 in W 36 in D 14 in
Donald Deskey Art Deco Bookcase circa 1930s Refinished In Your Choice of Color
By Donald Deskey
Located in Atlanta, GA
Clean Lined Art Deco Bookcase, designed by Donald Deskey by The Company of Mastercraftsmen, American, circa 1930s. The price noted includes refinishing in your choice of color. This ...
Wood
Regency Mahogany Breakfront Library Bookcase Circa 1930
Located in Potters Bar, GB
Impressive Regency style mahogany breakfront library bookcase dating to circa 1930 Upper section with four glazed doors featuring geometric astragal glazing Architectural swan-neck p...
Mahogany
$8,781
H 57.09 in W 28.75 in D 23.23 in
Chest of Mid-Century Modern Wood Drawers After Gerrit Rietveld, circa 1970
By Gerrit Rietveld
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Wooden chest with 10 drawers. Manufactured after a design of Gerrit Rietveld, circa 1970 In good original condition with minor wear consistent with age and use, preserving a be...
Wood
Wim Rietveld Free-Standing Bookcase in Black and White Metal
By Wim Rietveld
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Wim Rietveld, bookcase, black and white coated metal, The Netherlands, 1960. This free-standing bookcase was originally designed by Wim Rietveld for the famous Dutch high-end department store De Bijenkorf in 1960. The clear structure of the shelf creates a striking design. All horizontal shelves are colored black and in contrast with the white vertical elements. Due to the expressive unsymmetric arrangement of the two white sides and the white element functioning as a backwall, the black shelves...
Metal
$30,741
H 84.5 in W 90.5 in D 14.5 in
George III Mahogany Breakfront Bookcase in the Manner of Thomas Sheraton
By Thomas Sheraton
Located in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire
A George III Sheraton period mahogany breakfront bookcase of good low-waisted proportions, attractive arched glazing bars inlaid with ebony and satinwood diamonds which match the inl...
Mahogany
$2,995
H 51.25 in W 36.5 in D 14.5 in
Antique English Art Deco Carved Oak Bookcase or Display Cabinet, Circa 1930s
By Gilbert Rohde
Located in South Bend, IN
A gorgeous antique English Art Deco bookcase or display cabinet In the manner of Gilbert Rohde England, Circa 1930s Oak, with mullioned glass front doors. Interior shelves are rem...
Glass, Oak
$1,803Sale Price|20% Off
H 69.69 in W 24.81 in D 17.72 in
Queen Anne Style Burr Walnut Bureau Bookcase circa 1930s
By Waring & Gillow
Located in Dereham, GB
Queen Anne Style Burr Walnut Bureau Bookcase circa 1930s Dome shaped top , Single Astragal Glazed door, with Working lock & Key, open 2 reveal Two shelf interior, Burr Walnut Bure...
Walnut
$1,297
H 50.4 in W 35.24 in D 15.75 in
CIRCA 1930s MINTY OF OXFORD THREE TIER GLASS FRONT BARRISTER BOOKCASE CABINET
By Minty of Oxford
Located in Pulborough, GB
Antiques of London A fine example of English library furniture by Minty of Oxford, renowned “Library Specialists” supplying colleges, institutions, and private libraries from the...
Hardwood
$6,148
H 76.97 in W 41.54 in D 11.23 in
George III circa 1760 English Oak Thomas Chippendale Carved Bureau Bookcase
By Thomas Chippendale
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
We are delighted to offer absolutely stunning hand made in England George III circa 1760-1780 Bureau bookcase with Thomas Chippendale carvings This is a true piece of classic Engl...
Oak
Gerrit Rietveld Modular Cabinets Holland, 1935
By Gerrit Rietveld
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
Modernist pair of cabinets from a modular system designed by Gerrit Rietveld with help of Truus Schroder, Holland 1935. These two cabinets come from a set of nine purchased by the family in 1935. Originally the cabinets had a black outside and red inside but they have been repainted (a long time ago) in fully black. You can see where there are some marks where the red original paint...
Plywood