Gerrit Thomas Rietveld

The Rietveld Family
Christie's Amsterdam, June 7, 1988, lot 421
Private Dutch Collection

De Stijl, September 1919, p. 133
Gio Ponti, "In Margine alla Triennale," Domus, September 1951, p. 7 (for an example of the model shown at the 1951 Triennale in Milan)
Thomas B. Hess, "The Dutch:  This Century," Art News, January 1953, p. 25
Alfred A. Barr, Jr., ed., Masters of Modern Arts, exh. cat., The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1954, p. 217
Theodore M. Brown, The Work of Gerrit Rietveld:  Architect, Utrecht, 1958, pp. 18-20, 79 and 164
Daniele Baroni, The Furniture of Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, Woodbury, NY, 1977, pp. 50-51
Gerrit Rietveld:  A Centenary Exhibition, Craftsman and Visionary, exh. cat., Barry Friedman Gallery, New York, 1988, pp. 24-28
Marijke Küper and Ida van Zijl, Gerrit Th. Rietveld, Utrecht, 1992, pp. 74-75 and 79
Peter Vöge, The Complete Rietveld Furniture, Rotterdam, 1993, pp. 58-59
Alexander von Vegesack, Peter Dunas, and Mathias Schwartz-Clauss, eds. 100 Masterpieces from the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, 1996, pp. 210-211
Titus M. Eliëns, Marjan Groot, and Frans Leidelmeijer, Dutch Decorative Arts 1880-1940, Kingston, NY, 1997, pp. 165-167
Paola Antonelli, ed., Sitting on the Edge:  Modernist Design from the Collection of Michael and Gabrielle Boyd, San Francisco, 1998, pl. 8
Charlotte and Peter Fiell, eds., 1000 Chairs, Cologne, 2000, p. 153
Luca Dosi Delfini, The Furniture Collection, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 2004, p. 295

This chair was evaluated by Drs. Rob Driessen, who specializes in Rietveld furniture. As discussed in the catalogue entry, the entire surface of the chair, with exception of the underside of the seat, has been repainted in a black paint. In his opinion, the chair retains at least traces of the red and yellow paint scheme. The yellow paint is visible on the proper right and proper left outer edges of the billet under the front edge of the chair seat. There is a loss to the black overpaint to the end of the proper left billet which is visible in the catalogue illustration and reveals the yellow paint. There is evidence of the red paint scheme to the top edge of the seat back and to the reverse of the seat back behind the mid-back billet. The chair does not appear to have been taken apart when it was overpainted. The new black overpaint with minor chips along the edges as expected. With nicks and dings to the frame consistent with age and use. Some losses to the overpainting over the nails to the seat and the seat back. Prior to the black overpainting there appears to have been a gray primer coat, which is visible to the edges of the underside of the chair and in the scattered chips to the top surface of the chair. While the majority of the chair has a thick layer of black paint with occasional drip marks, and indicate that there are at least two layers of paint underneath (the original color and the gray primer). The seat and possibly the front of the backrest appears to have been sanded prior to repainting and the surface is slightly smoother. There is a small loss to the wood adjacent to the proper left front nail on the chair seat. With a small horizontal crack to the paint to the back side of the seat back obstructed by the mid-back billet. The chair shows evidence of warping from age and a result of the use. This is most pronounced at billets to the base of the chair. The two vertical billets at the front edge of the seat also have some evidence of warping. This is part of the reason that the overall frame of the chair is slightly loose. There does not appear to be any evidence of restoration to the chair, prior to the repainting. There is one inconsistent nail to the reverse side of the back of the proper left arm, which has been added and then overpainted. The front edges of the arms and the two vertical billets of the front edge of the seat have been rounded likely prior to the repainting. This was likely done long ago to soften the hard edges of the chair when it was used. In the catalogue the paper label affixed to the underside of the chair was described as a shipping label. It is in fact a label from a publishing house likely dating to before World War II. It is possible that this label would add additional provenance to the chair’s early travel, but more research is needed. An early modern masterwork with excellent Rietveld family provenance.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

One of the most iconic chairs of the 20th century, so much ink has been spilled on the historical significance of the "Red Blue Chair" that perhaps it is sufficient to quote Peter Vöge: "Rietveld reached an unprecedented level of abstraction in this form." 

What requires constant vigilance is the dating, description and provenance of each early example of the chair. The original prototypes, designed in 1918 and 1919, were built using hardwoods such as purpleheart and deal (fir), were either unpainted or stained black, brown or red, and were varied in their size, (including "Lady's and Gentleman's chairs") and in some cases included side panels. Vöge catalogues these chairs as a separate design, and then lists as a later entry the "Red Blue" chair of 1922 and 1923 "in recognition of the chair's symbolic position within the De Stijl movement, reinforced when Rietveld applied colour to the design." 

At the same time that this famous color scheme of red, blue, yellow and black was incorporated into the design, Rietveld began shifting from solid woods to the use of laminated beechwood (multiplex) plywood seats and backs. Superb examples of this model are in the collections of the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, High Museum of Art, Atlanta and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Many of the chairs from this seminal period were made for artist friends in Rietveld's circle, as well as for immediate family members. As noted in the Stedelijk Museum catalogue,  "up to and including the furniture for the Rietveld Schröderhuis, ca. 1924-1930, the designer made most of the furniture himself. After that, they were made under his control by his assistants, especially G.A van de Groenekan."  After 1960, van de Groenekan continued to produce examples "in an independent fashion" and later Cassina began a mass-production reissue.

The present example, handbuilt by Rietveld for his family, executed with a multiplex seat and back that is clearly visible through the paint, retains definite amounts of the original red, blue, and yellow paint. At an unknown date in the 1930s-1940s, an overcoat of black was applied. Scholars differ on the reasons why several examples were later over-painted, but the most logical reason is that wear to the original paint scheme, combined with the shifting taste of Rietveld himself, led to this stylistic change of color . In 1988, five examples of the Red Blue chair, including the present example, were consigned by Rietveld family members to Christie's Amsterdam. At this point, cataloguing errors were made and certificates were issued by van de Groenekan that assigned erroneous dates to several of the chairs, including the present one (which was dated 1919).  As museums and private collections with an eye towards a permanent bequest have acquired the other period examples over the past decade, this is most likely the last remaining red blue chair from the 1920s to appear on the market.