Gerrit Rietveld

Gerrit Rietveld was a Dutch furniture designer and architect.  He was born in 1888 and died in1964.  He is one of the main pioneers of the De Stijl movement and the designer of the Red and Blue chair and the Rietveld Schroder house.

In 1917 he opened his own workshop and set up a business as a cabinet-maker.  Unlike the designers of the Art Nouveau movement, he aimed at designing furniture which will eventually be mass produced in factories.  He was not exactly a fan of decoration and craftsmanship.
in 1918 he started hi own furniture company and modified his 1917 design of the Red and Blue chair.  In 1919 he officially joined the De Stijl movement and became an architect in that same year.

"In 1923, Walter Gropius the head of the Bauhaus, invited Rietveld to view the exhibit at the Bauhaus.  In 1924, Rietveld designed his first building called The Rietveld Schroder house"(Wikipedia).  At a first glance one will already be able to tell that it is a house very influenced by the De Stijl movement.  Rietveld focused a lot of the functionality of the house.  For example, the bedroom can either be one big bedroom or it can be divided into two by a folding wall and the stairs can be closed off too by means of a folding wall.  He focused a lot on the practicality and comfort of the house.






















Fashion today is extremely influenced by the De Stijl movement.  Designers have literally translated Rietveld's Red and Blue chair onto their cloathing.

 

Theo Van Doesburg

Theo Van Doesburg was a Dutch artist, architect, writer, poet and designer.  He lived between 1883 and 1931 and is known to be the founder of the De Stijl movement.  Doesburg held his first exhibition in 1908 and from 1912 onwards he supported his works by writing in magazines. (Information taken from http://www.answers.com/topic/theo-van-doesburg)

The De Stijl movement was very particular as a style.  It made use of the primary colors and the non-colors (black, grey and white).  Works were usually done by putting together geometric shapes of different sizes and distinguishing them with a black bold outline and different vibrant colors.  The paintings that fall under the De Stijl movement and the furniture that falls under the movement are very similar.






Theo Van Doesburg's subject matter of his designs changed a lot over the years.  He regarded himself as a Modern artist and was very influenced by Vincent Van Gough.  After reading Wassily Kandinsky's 'Ruckblicke' he realized that there is a spiritual and abstract level in painting that originates from ones mind. 

Doesburg criticizes Futurism and the idea of speed and motion in design.  He realizes the importance of line and how line can make or destroy a design.  In 1922, Doesburg moves to Weimar with the intention of making an impression on The Bauhaus leader, Walter Gropius.  He tries to influence The Bauhaus and tries spread the De Stijl movement. (Information taken from Wikipedia)




Apart from being a painter, Theo Van Doesburg was also an architect.  He designed various houses for different architects.  Together with Georges Vantongerloo and Sophie Taeuber-Arp he designed the Café Aubette in Strasbourg (Image on the right).

Van Doesburg was also interested in the Dada movement.  He posted Dada poetry and Dada art.

Together with works of other designers of this style such as Wassily Kandinsky, many of his works can be found in the Guggenheim museums in Venice, New York, Bilbao and Abu Dhabi.

William Morris

Portrait, William Morris


William Morris was an English textiles designer, artist and writer who was very closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts movement.  He was born in 1834 and died in1896.
Morris founded a design firm with the artist Eduard Burne-Jones and the poet Dante Rossetti and was extremely influenced by the decoration of the houses and churches of the 20th century. 

Several years after Morris got married he challenged himself with two tasks.  The first was to design and build a house for himself and his wife Jane and the other to start a firm of decorators and reinstating decoration as a fine art.  The house he designed and named 'Red House' was designed for himself and his wife.  Inside everything was designed by Morris and his wife.  All ceiling paintings and wall paintings were done by himself and Jane.  His furniture was painted by Morris and Rossetti and the stained glasses was done by Burne-Jones.

Red House in Kent

The strange thing about this house is that it has no wallpaper or printed or woven fabrics or any carpets which Morris and his firm specialized in.

Morris firm,  Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co, took on various skills like stained glass, glass-work, metal-work, paper hangings, murals and carpets.  The decoration of churches was the most important for the firm. 

Today Morris's works are still very influential.  We can see influences of his textile patterns in many houses.  He was all about craftsmanship and really tried to encourage people to move away from mass production.  He encouraged originality and hand made designs as to him they were much more valuable than those designs made by machines.



Emile Galle

Portrait, Emile Galle

Emile Galle was a French designer who formed part of the Art Nouveau movement.  He lived between 1846 and 1904.  He was one of France's most celebrated designers of the time.  As a furniture designer he worked most with glass however, he has other pieces made with wood.

Galle was the leading designer of the Art Nouveau style and of the modern renaissance of French glass-work.  Emile Galle stated out by working in his fathers factory.  His first works were made of clear glass and were carefully engraved in enamel.  As he proceeded he became better and better and started to work with colored glass.








Vase by Emile Galle showing
Japanese influences.

His glass-work was of great success in the Paris world exhibition of 1878.  Galle's originality in his works made a great impression in the Paris exhibition of 1889.  Over the years, Galle also became interested in Japanese art. 

Emile Galle was very experimental.  He liked to try many different techniques.  Infact his works are very versatile.  He uses methods like wheel cutting, acid etching, metallic foils and using air bubbles to create a certain effect.
When he returned to his home town his aim was to promote craftsmanship and try influence people to move away from the idea of mass production and machinery. 

As he grew in popularity, so did his company.  By the end of the 19th his workshop employed almost 300 employees.  He worked with other famous Art Nouveau artists like Eugene Rosseau.  His glass enterprise continued to flourish till 1913.  His works were very naturalistic.  Most of them were predominantly floristic and soft.  He aimed to depict nature and communicate a sense of utopia his audience.


















Emile Galle also conducted a study on botany and this was the main influence on his works.  Almost all of the time his works had leaves, ethereal flowers, vines and fruits.  Galle also created some furniture inspired by the Rococo style.  These usually had an organic feel to them.  They were made out of wood and still kept the theme of nature.

Today Emile Galle's works are still very popular, especially with collectors.  His works are very highly priced and valuable. 

Marcel Breuer

Marcel Breuer was a Hungarian architect and furniture designer.  He was a modernist.  At the peak of the 20th century, Marcel Breuer was considered to be one of the world's most popular architects.  Breuer was one of the youngest students at the Bauhaus being just 18 years old.  He was noticed by Gropius and made head of the carpentry workshop. 

Wassily Chair

He was fist recognized for designing bicycle handle bar-styled street furniture.  Breuer was highly inspired by Le Corbusier's designs and also those of Mies Van Der Rohe.  His Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer was thought to have been designed for Wassily Kandinsky however this was not the case.  Kandinsky was a mere admirer of the chair, so much so that Breuer made a copy of the chair for Kandinsky's home.  Breuer's Italian manufacturer gave the chair its name as he learned that Kandinsky liked it a lot. 



Frank House, Pittsburgh

Because Marcel Breuer was a Jew, he had to move to London in the 1930's due to the rise of the Nazi party in Germany. In 1937, Breuer teamed up with Gropius.  One of their most popular works that they completed together was the 'Frank House' in Pittsburgh.
Breuer also designed the Whitney museum for American art in New York city.


Some other works of Marcel Breuer include:








William Wardell

William Wardell was a civil engineer and architect who lived between 1823 and 1899.  He was notable for his work in Australia, England and Scotland. (Information taken from Wikipedia)

His most notable works include the St Patrick's cathedral in Melbourne, The University of Sydney and St John's Collage.  He worked in both Gothic and Classical styles.  Although Wardell built many public buildings, He also had a private practice building houses and buildings for individuals.  Many times he teamed up to work with his friend Augustus Pugin who was an English architect, designer, critic and artist and who simulated him to Wardell's interest in the Gothic Revival.




Between the years 1846 and 1857, Wardell designed close to 30 churches one of which being St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney.  Wardell became attracted to the catholic church through its architecture.  He was not a spiritual person and Pugin often tried to inject interest in Catholicism into Wardell.  In the end he ended up converting to Catholicism, creating a new life and a new family for him.  He used his architecture and designs as a way of praising and thanking God.  His architecture and sculpture give us an insite to his beliefs and views on religion.

St Mary's Cathedral Sydney.

St Patrick's Cathedral Melbourne.

Wardell was responsible for the construction of all the public buildings in Victoria, Melbourne.  Some of these public buildings are attributed to him.  Wardell was also a member of the Central Board of Health.

St Patrick's cathedral is one of William Wardell's most famous and prestigious works. 






Wardell's interiors were very soft.  Light and tranquil pastel colors are used together with gold.  The gold gives the room a sense of richness and wealth.  The image on the left shows the interior of a government house in Melbourne.

William Wardell was on of the major pioneers in the Gothic Revival period.  He was fascinated by the style of the buildings and felt that his designs brought him closer to his new found religion.

Rene Jules Lalique

Rene Jules Lalique

Rene Jules Lalique was born in Paris in 1860 and died in 1945.  He was  French glass designer know for his perfume bottles, jewellery and chandeliers. (Information from Wikipedia)

When Lalique was younger him and his family moved to a suburb of Paris and travelled around France during the summer.  This had a great influence on his designs as they were very naturalistic.




At a point Lalique was working as a freelance artist and designed some pieces for French jewelers Cartier and Boucheron.  in 1890, Lalique opened his own business and designed his own jewellery and glass pieces.  His designs formed part of the Art Nouveau movement.  He became one of the most famous in his field. 

Horse by Jules Lalique


He also became noted for his work in the Art Décor style.
Lalique was responsible for the lighted glass and colored glass columns found in the dining room of the Ss Normandie.

'Le Grand Salon' Ss. Normandie



Laliques style:

Lalique was very inspired my nature.  For this reason he formed part of the Art Nouveau movement.  The Art Nouveau movement was all taking natural forms and injecting them into the designers work.  Most of the time Laliques work included insect or animal figures.  The colours were usually very soft yet rich.

As mentioned before, Lalique was very influenced by the French countryside and also by Japanese art.  He incorporated many details typical of Japanese art into his designs.  He used various materials in his works like for example, pearls, enamel, ivory, semi-precious stones and glass. (Information taken from http://rlalique.com/rene-lalique-biography)

Today the works of Lalique can be found almost all over the world.  There are auctions constantly being held world wide, selling his works.  Exhibitions are also constantly being held and many of his works can be seen in various museums.  The works of Lalique still flourish in the public eye.  His works are also being sold on Ebay.  Collectors say that his works are the most sought after and are the most valuable.