Alvar Aalto Chair 2, Mode 15.1930
About the Item
- Creator:Alvar Aalto (Designer)
- Design:Chair 66L-Leg Series
- Dimensions:Height: 2.37 in (6 cm)Width: 20.48 in (52 cm)Depth: 22.84 in (58 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1930
- Condition:Reupholstered. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Madrid, ES
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1005614874732
Alvar Aalto
An architect and designer, Alvar Aalto deserves an immense share of the credit for bringing Scandinavian modernism and Nordic design to a prominent place in the global arena. In both his buildings and his vintage furniture — which ranges from chairs, stools, tables and lighting to table- and glassware — Aalto’s sensitivity to the natural world and to organic forms and materials tempered the hardness of rationalist design.
Relatively few Aalto buildings exist outside Finland. (Just four exist in the United States, and only one — the sinuous 1945 Baker House dormitory at M.I.T. — is easily visited.) International attention came to Aalto, whose surname translates to English as “wave,” primarily through his furnishings.
Instead of the tubular metal framing favored by the Bauhaus designers and Le Corbusier, Aalto insisted on wood. His aesthetic is best represented by the Paimio armchair, developed with his wife, Aino Aalto, in 1930 as part of the overall design of a Finnish tuberculosis sanatorium.
Comfortable, yet light enough to be easily moved by patients, the Paimio chair’s frame is composed of two laminated birch loops; the seat and back are formed from a single sheet of plywood that scrolls under the headrest and beneath the knees, creating a sort of pillow effect. Aalto’s use of plywood had an enormous influence on Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen, Marcel Breuer and others who later came to the material.
Concerned with keeping up standards of quality in the production of his designs, Aalto formed the still-extant company Artek in 1935, along with Aino, whose glass designs were made by the firm. In the latter medium, in 1936 the Aaltos together created the iconic, undulating Savoy vase, so-called for the luxe Helsinki restaurant for which the piece was designed.
Artek also produced Aalto pendants and other lighting designs, many of which — such as the Angel’s Wing floor lamp and the Beehive pendant — incorporate a signature Aalto detail: shades made of concentric enameled-metal rings graduated down in diameter. The effect of the technique is essential Alvar Aalto: at once precise, simple, and somehow poetic.
Find a collection of vintage Alvar Aalto stools, vases, dining tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Madrid, Spain
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Alva Aalto Floor Lamp Model A808 for Valaitustyo Ky, 1950sBy Alvar Aalto, ValaistustyöLocated in Madrid, ESAn Alvar Alto floor lamp edited by Valaitustyo Ky in the early 1950s. Brass shade, white metal; black leather-covered lamp stand. Early edition. Top impressed with "Valaitustyio A 808...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Pair Fo Jens Quistgaard Conical-Stick Rosewood and Black Leather ChairsBy Jens QuistgaardLocated in Madrid, ESA pair of Jens Quistgaard chairs. Frame in solid Brazilian rosewood and chromed steel. Seat and back upholstered in black leather. Designed in 1966 and produced and stamped by Nissen...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSteel
- Frits Henningsen Cuban Mahogany Armchair, 1933By Frits HenningsenLocated in Madrid, ESAn armchair designed and edited by Frits Henningsen in 1933. Cuban mahogany frame ;professionally reupholstered in brown leather. Brass nails. Excellent condition. Shipping worldwide...Category
Vintage 1930s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Mahogany
- Ejner Larsen & Aksel Madsen Light Grey Armchair, 1964By Ejner Larsen and Aksel Bender MadsenLocated in Madrid, ESA Larsen and Madsen XXL armchair. Wenge frame. 1964 Design and later reupholstered in light gray velvet. Excellent condition..Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Wenge
- Mid-Century ModernVictorio Nobili Medea Armchair for Fratelli Tagliabue, 1950By Vittorio NobiliLocated in Madrid, ESA bentwood armchair, Medea model,designed by Vittorio Nobili and edited by Fratelli Tagliabue in the 50s.Stamped and fully original.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- Gio Ponti Style Armchairs, 1950By Gio PontiLocated in Madrid, ESAn elegant pair of Gio Ponti style arm chairs edited in the 1950s. Wooden frame, bronze spring seats and organic vegetable filling in the in...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Beech
- Early Alvar Aalto 'Model 2' Arm Chair, 1930By O.Y.Huonekalu, Alvar AaltoLocated in Los Angeles, CAOriginal early Alvar Aalto 'Model 2' armchair for O.Y. Huonekalu- ja Rakennustyötehdas A.B., in molded plywood and solid birch. Unrestored condition with partly significant wear. Lat...Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsPlywood
- Alvar Aalto 36 ChairBy Alvar Aalto, O.Y.HuonekaluLocated in Epperstone, NottinghamshireEarly Alvar Aalto 36/401 chair designed in 1933 and made by O.y. Huonekalu – Ja Rakennustyotehdas AB, Turku, Finland. Beautiful example of this special chair...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric
- Alvar Aalto Paimio Chair 41By Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Los Angeles, CAStunning Paimio armchair 41 by Alvar Alto for Artek, Finland, in natural birch wood with black bentwood seat with venting slots. The laminated birch frame is bent into a closed curve...Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBirch
- Alvar Aalto Cantilever Chair, Model 31By Alvar AaltoLocated in San Francisco, CAAlvar Aalto cantilever chair, model 31. A very rare 1st edition model 31 lounge chair by Alvar Aalto in birch plywood with a floating bac...Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBirch
- Armchair by Alvar AaltoBy Alvar Aalto, ArtekLocated in Sagaponack, NYA laminated birch armchair with a black linen webbed seat and cane wrapped arms.Category
Vintage 1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBirch
- Cantilevered Lounge Chair by Alvar AaltoBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Los Angeles, CABlack lacquered birch cantilevered armchair "number 42" O.y Huonekalu-ja Rakennustyötehdas. Made in Finland circa 1932. Provenance: This chair is documented on a family photograph f...Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Armchairs
MaterialsBirch, Plywood
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The Very Modern Love Story of Mid-Century Design Duo Alvar and Aino Aalto
A power couple before the term existed, the influential pair made work that still resonates today.
What Makes Scandinavian Modernism and Nordic Design So Irresistible?
Andrew Duncanson, founder of the Stockholm- and London-based gallery Modernity, weighs in on the masters of mid-century furniture and decorative arts.