- 23
Marcel Breuer
Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Marcel Breuer
- Lattenstuhl, model no. TI 1a
- stained oak, hessian cloth, with later applied Bauhaus influenced hand-woven fabric
Provenance
Galerie Ulrich Fiedler, Berlin
Exhibited
Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, L'esprit du Bauhaus, 19 October, 2016 - 26 February, 2017, p. 95, illustrated in colour, p. 95 and 196
Literature
Herbert Bayer, Das Bauhaus in Dessau: Katalog der Muster, 1925, n.p.
Walter Gropius and László Moholy-Nagy, Eds., Bauhausbücher: Neue Arbeiten der Bauhauswerkstätten, Vol. 7, Munich 1925, pp. 28-29 and 33
Exh. Cat., London, Royal Academy of Arts, 50 Years Bauhaus, September - October 1968, p. 109, no. 248 and p. 111, no. 270
Exh. Cat., New York, Museum of Mordern Art, MARCEL BREUER: Furniture and Interiors, July - September 1981, p. 24, fig. 7, p. 41, fig 27
Magdalena Droste, Bauhaus: 1919-1933, Cologne 1990, pp. 55, 108
Magdalena Droste and Manfred Ludewig, MARCEL BREUER DESIGN, Berlin 1992, pp. 6, 46-47 and 50
Alexander von Vegesack and Mathias Remmele, Eds., MARCEL BREUER: DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE, Weil am Rhein 2003, pp. 57, 117 and 267
Jeannine Fiedler and Peter Feierabend, Eds., BAUHAUS, Potsdam 2016, pp. 21, 322 and 405
Exh. Cat., Weil am Rhein, Vitra Design Museum and Bonn, Bundeskunsthalle, the Bauhaus: #itsalldesign, September 2015 - August 2016, pp. 82, no. 8, p. 162, no. 128
Walter Gropius and László Moholy-Nagy, Eds., Bauhausbücher: Neue Arbeiten der Bauhauswerkstätten, Vol. 7, Munich 1925, pp. 28-29 and 33
Exh. Cat., London, Royal Academy of Arts, 50 Years Bauhaus, September - October 1968, p. 109, no. 248 and p. 111, no. 270
Exh. Cat., New York, Museum of Mordern Art, MARCEL BREUER: Furniture and Interiors, July - September 1981, p. 24, fig. 7, p. 41, fig 27
Magdalena Droste, Bauhaus: 1919-1933, Cologne 1990, pp. 55, 108
Magdalena Droste and Manfred Ludewig, MARCEL BREUER DESIGN, Berlin 1992, pp. 6, 46-47 and 50
Alexander von Vegesack and Mathias Remmele, Eds., MARCEL BREUER: DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE, Weil am Rhein 2003, pp. 57, 117 and 267
Jeannine Fiedler and Peter Feierabend, Eds., BAUHAUS, Potsdam 2016, pp. 21, 322 and 405
Exh. Cat., Weil am Rhein, Vitra Design Museum and Bonn, Bundeskunsthalle, the Bauhaus: #itsalldesign, September 2015 - August 2016, pp. 82, no. 8, p. 162, no. 128
Condition
Very good condition overall consistent with age and use. The frame in its original condition with wear concentrated to the upper armrests, and tops of the front left and right legs where the staining is lighter due to use. Minor scuffs and scratches as partially visible in the printed and online catalogues. Water stains to the bases of the feet as below, the largest approximately 4x5 cm and are partially visible in the printed and online catalogues, with very minor chips and scuffs. A tight hairline crack to the front stretcher near the join of the front left leg proper, approximately 3 cm in length and appears stable. A tight hairline crack radiating across the top of the front right leg proper and appears stable. Surface dirt throughout and very minor spotting throughout the cloth upholstery. The hessian cloth below the seat fabric is a later replacement. A beautiful example of this exceedingly rare model
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
The Bauhaus was founded in 1919 in the city of Weimar by the architect Walter Gropius. His objective was radical: to reimagine a material world that would reflect the unity of all the arts. He explained this vision for a union of art and design in the Bauhaus Manifesto, which described a utopian craft guild combining architecture, sculpture, and painting into a single creative expression. The school’s motto was then ‘art and craft – a new unity’.
The new teaching methods of the school were based on workshops in which craft and design were intersected with the functionality and aesthetic of objects. To this end, students were taught by both a Master of Form and a Master of Craft to allow, as the Manifesto stated, 'new building of the future', in which the habitat was considered in its entirety, from an aesthetic, functional, social and economic point of view.
After being immersed in the Bauhaus theories, the students would join workshops specialising in a variety of trades and materials including metalwork, carpentry, weaving, pottery, and graphic design. If the initial unification of the arts had to go through crafts, this approach quickly proved to be financially impractical. In 1923, while still emphasising craftsmanship, Gropius reviewed the intentions of the Bauhaus and the outcome was a renewed initiative focusing on the importance of design for mass production. The motto of the school was renewed in 1922 to 'art and technology – a new unity’.
In 1920, at the age of 18, Marcel Breuer joined the carpentry workshop. It was here that he was influenced by the founding member of the Dutch movement De Stijl, Theo Van Doesburg, who lived in Weimar from 1921 to 1923. In parallel with the Russian Constructivists, whose first congress was held in Weimar in 1922, Breuer's first designs bear close comparison to those of Gerrit Rietveld who started exhibiting at the Bauhaus from 1921.
The starting point of his Lattenstuhl armchair, dating from 1922, a wood-slat ensemble, was to promote a comfortable and ergonomic seated posture within an easy construction which Breuer intended as a prototype for industrial mass-production. This aerial structure, pared back to an essential form on which cloth strips (made in the weaving workshops of the school) create the seat and back, can be viewed as a three-dimensional interpretation of a De Stijl painting.
With this first armchair, Marcel Breuer created the embodiment of his concept for modern furniture: ‘a light and aerial sketch in space’, creating a chair that was both comfortable and simple in design. The resulting chair has no expensive upholstery, merely simple cloth supports for the skeleton. This leaves the spine free and the body resting on a stable frame and fulfilled economic requirements relating to the construction price for factory production.
The Lattenstuhl is based on principles which examined the sitting function through anatomical research, and is one of the most striking designs developed by Marcel Breuer. It was produced in small numbers between 1922 and 1925 by the Bauhaus carpentry workshop in Weimar. Due to its construction and form, the Lattenstuhl was never offered widely for sale, perhaps too avant-garde for its time.
A brilliant pupil, Breuer proved himself at the Bauhaus in Weimar, progressing from student to professor. He then took charge of the carpentry workshop when the school moved to Dessau in 1925. Observing his architectural and design work, one can clearly visualise a continuous thread of the Bauhaus mantra of reuniting art and industry. Inspired by the construction of the bicycle, Breuer revolutionised the modern interior with his tubular metal furniture. His first mass-produced designs, especially the Wassily armchair, remain today amongst the most identifiable icons of modernist furniture.
The new teaching methods of the school were based on workshops in which craft and design were intersected with the functionality and aesthetic of objects. To this end, students were taught by both a Master of Form and a Master of Craft to allow, as the Manifesto stated, 'new building of the future', in which the habitat was considered in its entirety, from an aesthetic, functional, social and economic point of view.
After being immersed in the Bauhaus theories, the students would join workshops specialising in a variety of trades and materials including metalwork, carpentry, weaving, pottery, and graphic design. If the initial unification of the arts had to go through crafts, this approach quickly proved to be financially impractical. In 1923, while still emphasising craftsmanship, Gropius reviewed the intentions of the Bauhaus and the outcome was a renewed initiative focusing on the importance of design for mass production. The motto of the school was renewed in 1922 to 'art and technology – a new unity’.
In 1920, at the age of 18, Marcel Breuer joined the carpentry workshop. It was here that he was influenced by the founding member of the Dutch movement De Stijl, Theo Van Doesburg, who lived in Weimar from 1921 to 1923. In parallel with the Russian Constructivists, whose first congress was held in Weimar in 1922, Breuer's first designs bear close comparison to those of Gerrit Rietveld who started exhibiting at the Bauhaus from 1921.
The starting point of his Lattenstuhl armchair, dating from 1922, a wood-slat ensemble, was to promote a comfortable and ergonomic seated posture within an easy construction which Breuer intended as a prototype for industrial mass-production. This aerial structure, pared back to an essential form on which cloth strips (made in the weaving workshops of the school) create the seat and back, can be viewed as a three-dimensional interpretation of a De Stijl painting.
With this first armchair, Marcel Breuer created the embodiment of his concept for modern furniture: ‘a light and aerial sketch in space’, creating a chair that was both comfortable and simple in design. The resulting chair has no expensive upholstery, merely simple cloth supports for the skeleton. This leaves the spine free and the body resting on a stable frame and fulfilled economic requirements relating to the construction price for factory production.
The Lattenstuhl is based on principles which examined the sitting function through anatomical research, and is one of the most striking designs developed by Marcel Breuer. It was produced in small numbers between 1922 and 1925 by the Bauhaus carpentry workshop in Weimar. Due to its construction and form, the Lattenstuhl was never offered widely for sale, perhaps too avant-garde for its time.
A brilliant pupil, Breuer proved himself at the Bauhaus in Weimar, progressing from student to professor. He then took charge of the carpentry workshop when the school moved to Dessau in 1925. Observing his architectural and design work, one can clearly visualise a continuous thread of the Bauhaus mantra of reuniting art and industry. Inspired by the construction of the bicycle, Breuer revolutionised the modern interior with his tubular metal furniture. His first mass-produced designs, especially the Wassily armchair, remain today amongst the most identifiable icons of modernist furniture.