Pair of Knoll Barcelona Rare Color Olive Brown Leather Chairs Mies van der Rohe
View Similar Items
Pair of Knoll Barcelona Rare Color Olive Brown Leather Chairs Mies van der Rohe
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Manufacturer),Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 29.5 in (74.93 cm)Width: 31 in (78.74 cm)Depth: 24 in (60.96 cm)Seat Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2000
- Condition:
- Seller Location:West Hartford, CT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3072318469562
Barcelona Chair
For the German Pavilion at the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, German-American architect and furniture maker Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969) — in collaboration with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich (1885–1947) — created a chair fit for royalty.
The Spanish king, Alfonso XIII, was expected to attend the opening of the World’s Fair, and as Mies later stated, the chair needed to be “monumental . . . you just couldn’t use a kitchen chair.” In its X-shaped structure, the Barcelona chair recalls the ancient folding stools of Egypt and Rome and was designed with swooping lines and a luxe contrast of materials between the chrome-plated frame and quilted leather cushions. Like the pavilion surrounding it, the chair distilled Mies’s “less is more” aphorism.
By all accounts, King Alfonso XIII never got around to sitting on this modern throne. The pavilion, too, stood for only seven months before it was demolished. Nevertheless, the Barcelona chair was regarded as a masterwork of modernism, influencing countless buildings that followed with its minimalist aesthetic of marble, glass and steel, which gracefully flowed together from the exterior to the interior spaces. Out of all the pavilion’s components, the Barcelona chair had the most longevity as a stand-alone piece.
Shortly after the close of the pavilion, the Barcelona chair went into production, first handcrafted by the Berliner Metallgewerbe studio. It became popular in private residences, debuting in America in 1930 in the New York apartment of architect Philip Johnson, who had met Mies during his work on the German Pavilion in Spain.
Fleeing the Nazis’ rise to power in Germany, Mies, too, soon moved to the United States. He relocated to Chicago, where he became the director of the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1938. It was there that he met designer Florence Knoll, who would help bring the Barcelona chair into mass production.
The earliest models of the Barcelona chair from Knoll were released in 1947. The design company and furniture manufacturer made slight updates to the chair over the years in response to new technology, including in 1964 changing the frame to stainless steel. Prevalent in office lobbies and architects’ homes, the Barcelona chair has seen numerous imitators, so in 2004 Knoll finally received a federal trade dress protection for it and four other pieces by Mies.
Knoll continues to produce the chair, and although the 21st-century version differs slightly from the 1929 original, it still embodies Mies and Reich's vision of design elegance in its balance of function and form.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Architect, furniture designer and educator, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a central figure in the advancement and promotion of modernist design and architectural theory and practice. Like Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier, he was a hugely influential presence in the field, who shaped the course of 20th-century architecture both through his buildings and his teaching of rationalist design principles.
Born in the medieval German city of Aachen, Mies found an interest in architecture as a boy while working for his father, a master stonemason. He had no formal education as an architect, but learned his skills as an apprentice to the designer Bruno Paul, and as a staffer in the office the proto-modernist architect and designer Peter Behrens. Following World War I, Mies rose to prominence in his field amid the liberal atmosphere of the Weimar Republic. His reputation was secured by his work on the German Pavilion at the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona (commonly referred to as the Barcelona Pavilion) — which Mies codesigned with Lilly Reich, his creative and romantic partner — a radically simple, poetic, open-plan building pared down to its architectural essentials. Mies would go on to direct the Bauhaus from 1930 until 1933, when Nazi-government interference forced the closure of the progressive art and design school. Later that decade, he made his way to Chicago, where he remained for the rest of his career as a practicing architect and a dean of the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Mies’s famed dictum “less is more” grew from his belief that architecture both guides and expresses the spirit of the times, and he envisioned the 20th century as open-minded, logical, transparent and liberated by technology. His best-known buildings — residences such as the Villa Tugendhat in Czechoslovakia and the Farnsworth House in rural Illinois; skyscrapers like the 860–880 Lake Shore Drive apartment towers in Chicago and the Seagram Building in New York — reflect that philosophy. As do the most famous furniture designs authored by him or codesigned with Reich.
Pieces designed by Mies and Reich such as the Barcelona chair (the authorized version is produced by Knoll today), stools and daybed, or the cantilevered Brno chairs, deliver a maximum of comfort and support from a minimum of materials: their “lavishness” derives from the precision with which they are engineered and constructed. For the collector, the allure of Mies’s furniture is at once practical and idealistic. Useful and functional, his works embody the highest aspirations of modernism.
Find vintage Mies van der Rohe chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Rare Knoll 65 1950s Chrome Lounge Chair with Daniel Cooper FabricBy Florence KnollLocated in West Hartford, CTRare Knoll 65 lounge chair with new upholstered Daniel Cooper fabric. While the form of the chair is rare, so is the fabric. Enjoy!Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- Adrian Pearsall Newly Upholstered in Ivory Boucle Fabric Swivel ChairBy Adrian Pearsall, Craft AssociatesLocated in West Hartford, CTGorgeous newly upholstered in elegant ivory boucle fabric high back swivel chair. Designed by Adrian Pearsall for Craft Associates in PA circa 1960's. Why not own the best.Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsTextile, Bouclé, Wood, Walnut
- Rare Set of Bamboo Rattan Parquetry Dining Chairs by McGuire Circa 1970'sBy McGuireLocated in West Hartford, CTStunning, ultra rare set of Mcguire bamboo dining chairs with gorgeous sculptural design on exterior, see pics. The chairs are upholstered ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsTextile, Rattan, Wood
$3,600 Sale Price / set20% Off - Rare Pair of Versace Prestige Gala Rosenthal Medusa Candlesticks CandleholdersBy Versace Home Collection, RosenthalLocated in West Hartford, CTPair of stunning porcelain candlesticks designed by Versace and made by Rosenthal - in the coveted Medusa style. These highly decorative candlesticks are of red and black design wit...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Candlesticks
MaterialsPorcelain
- Pair of Newly Upholstered Emerald Green Velvet Swivel Club ChairsLocated in West Hartford, CTThese mid-century barrel back swivel club chairs have recently been reupholstered in an emerald green Donghia velvet fabric and are super comfortable.Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Pair of Yellow Gold Mohair Velvet Oversized Upholstered Cube Club ChairsLocated in West Hartford, CTPair of mid century style matching oversized cube chairs newly upholstered in a yellow gold mohair fabric supported on a chrome base.Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsChrome
- Mies van der Rohe for Knoll Barcelona Chair and StoolBy Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, KnollLocated in Dallas, TXMies van der Rohe's iconic Barcelona chair with stool. Stamped Knoll.Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- "Barcelona" Mies Van Der Rohe for Knoll 1970s Black Leather Lounge ChairBy Knoll, Ludwig Mies van der RoheLocated in Brescia, ITBlack leather in perfect condiction Upholstery in excellent condiction Chrome in excellent condiction "Knoll International" sticker label.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Mies van der Rohe for Knoll Barcelona Chairs circa 1979 Pair AvailableBy Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, KnollLocated in Atlanta, GAIconic Barcelona Lounge Chairs, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for Knoll, American, circa 1979. Signed with Knoll labels underneath. The leather retains it's warm original pati...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Pair of Vintage Caramel Barcelona Chairs by Mies van der Rohe Knoll, 1970sBy Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, KnollLocated in Danville, CAThese Barcelona chairs were designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1929 and produced by Knoll International in the 1970s. The chairs feature an incredible hand dyed cognac leather uphol...Category
Vintage 1970s German Lounge Chairs
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Knoll Barcelona Chairs by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Leather, Stainless SteelBy Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, KnollLocated in Kansas City, MOFour available. Price is for each. Beautiful set of Barcelona Chairs designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and produced by Knoll. Each example i...Category
Early 2000s American Bauhaus Lounge Chairs
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Black Leather Mies van der Rohe for Knoll Barcelona Chairs, Matching Set of TwoBy Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, KnollLocated in Dronten, NLPair of Barcelona chairs by Mies Van der Rohe for Knoll International in black leather. Engraved with signature in the frame and marked with Knoll logo at the bottom of the cushions....Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome