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Modern furniture refers to furniture produced from the late 19th century through the present that is influenced by modernism. It was a tremendous departure from all furniture design that had gone before it. Dark or gilded carved wood and richly patterned fabrics gave way to the glittering simplicity and geometry of polished metal. The forms of furniture evolved from visually heavy to visually light. For the UK band, see Furniture (band). ...
For Christian theological modernism, see Liberal Christianity and Modernism (Roman Catholicism). ...
Influences
Prior to the modernist design movement there was an emphasis on furniture as ornament, the length of time a piece took to create was often a measure of its value and desirability. During the first half of the 19th Century a new philosophy emerged shifting the emphasis to function and accessibility. Western design generally, whether architectural or design of furniture had for millennia sought to convey an idea of lineage, a connection with tradition and history. The modern movement sought newness, originality, technical innovation, and ultimately the message that it conveyed spoke of the present and the future, rather than of what had gone before it.
Modernist design seems to have evolved out of a combination of influences: Technically innovative materials and manufacturing methods, the new philosophies that emerged from the Werkbund and the Bauhaus School, from exotic foreign influences, from Art Nouveau and from the tremendous creativity of the artists and designers of that era.
Materials The use of new materials, such as steel in its many forms; moulded plywood, such as that used by Charles and Ray Eames; and of course plastics, were formative in the creation of these new designs. They would have been considered pioneering, even shocking in contrast to what came before. This interest in new and innovative materials and methods - produced a certain blending of the disciplines of technology and art. And this became a working philosophy among the members of the Deutscher Werkbund. The Werkbund was a government sponsored organization to promote German art and design around the world. Many of those involved with it including Mies van Der Rohe, Lilly Reich and others, were later involved in the Bauhaus School, and so it is not surprising perhaps that the Bauhaus School took on the mantle of this philosophy. They evolved a particular interest in using these new materials in such a way that they might be mass produced and therefor make good design more accessible to the masses. Perhaps the most notable couple in the history of the field of industrial design. ...
The term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic condensation or polymerization products that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or fibers. ...
The Deutscher Werkbund (German Work Federation) was a German association of architects, designers and industrialists, an important precursor to the Bauhaus. ...
For the British gothic rock band, see Bauhaus (band). ...
African and Asian culture An aesthetic preference for the baroque and the complex was challenged not only by new materials and the courage and creativity of a few Europeans, but also by the growing access to African and Asian design. In particular the influence of Japanese design is legend: in the last years of the 19th Century the Edo Period in Japan, Japanese isolationist policy began to soften, and trade with the west began in ernest. The artifacts that emerged were striking in their simplicity, their use of solid planes of color without ornament, and contrasting use of pattern. A tremendous fashion for all things Japanese - Japonism - swept Europe. Some say that the western Art Nouveau movement emerged from this influence directly. Designers such as Charles Rennie MacIntosh, Eileen Grey and are known for both their modern and their art deco work, and they and others like Frank Lloyd Wright for example are notable for a certain elegant blending of the two styles.. The Edo period ), also called Tokugawa period, is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868. ...
Van Gogh - Portrait of Pere Tanguy Example of ukiyo-e influence in Western art Japonism (also in French Japonisme and Japonaiserie) is the influence of Japanese art on Western, primarily French, artists. ...
Vitebsk Railway Station one of the finest examples of Art Nouveau architecture. ...
Hill House, Helensburgh. ...
Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was one of the worlds most prominent and influential architects. ...
Iconic examples of modern furniture
Eileen Grey side table Designed in 1927 as a bedside table for the guest room in her own home - the unusual asymmetry of this piece is characteristic of her 'non conformist' design style, in both her architectural projects and in her furniture. Notably - true to her Bauhaus training this piece also has specific utility, as it can be adjusted such that one can eat breakfast in bed on it, which is believed to be its original purpose.[citation needed] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Barcelona chair -
The Barcelona chair has come to represent the Bauhaus design movement. Many consider it to be functional art, rather than just furniture. Designed by Mies Van Der Rohe and Lilly Reich in 1929 for an international design fair in Barcelona, it is said to have been inspired by both the folding chairs of the Pharaohs, and the 'X' shaped footstools of the Romans, and dedicated to the Spanish royal family. // The Barcelona Lounge Chair is a classic of 20th century modernist furniture design by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and his partner Lilly Reich. ...
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies) (March 27, 1886 - August 17, 1969) was an architect and designer. ...
Lilly Reich (16 June 1885–14 December 1947) was a German modernist designer. ...
Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts) Postal code 08001–08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ...
Pharaoh was the ancient Egyptian name for the office of kingship. ...
In the Roman Republic and later in the Roman Empire, all men could be very roughly divided into three classes. ...
Noguchi coffee table Isamu Noguchi 1904 - 1988 was a sculptor, architect, furniture and landscape designer. Half American, half Japanese, he is famous for his organic modern forms. The Noguchi Coffee Table - has become famous for its unique and unmistakable simplicity. Refined and at the same time natural, it is one of the most sought after pieces associated with the modern classic furniture movement. Isamu Noguchi , November 17, 1904 - December 30, 1988) was a prominent Japanese -American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. ...
Chronology Chronologically the design movement that produced modern furniture design, began earlier than one might imagine. Many of its most recognizable personalities were born at the end of the 19th or the very beginning of the 20th centuries. They were teaching and studying in Germany and elsewhere in the 1920s and 30s. At among other places the Bauhaus school of art and architecture. The furniture that was produced during this era is today known as "Modern Classic Furniture" or "Mid Century Modern". Ludwig Mies van der Rohe born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies (March 27, 1886 – August 17, 1969) was a German architect. ...
Eileen Gray Bibendum chair by Eileen Gray E1027 table by Eileen Gray Early Photograph of Eileen Grays E-1027 villa. ...
Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, who chose to be known as Le Corbusier (October 6, 1887 – August 27, 1965), was a Swiss-born architect and writer, who is famous for his contributions to what now is called Modern Architecture. ...
Lilly Reich (16 June 1885–14 December 1947) was a German modernist designer. ...
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (May 18, 1883 – July 5, 1969) was a German architect and founder of Bauhaus. ...
For the British gothic rock band, see Bauhaus (band). ...
Mid-Century modern is an architectural, interior and product design form that generally describes post-war developments in modern design from roughly 1945 to 1965. ...
Both the Bauhaus School and the Werkbund, had as their specific creative emphasis the blending of technology, new materials and art. The Deutscher Werkbund (German Work Federation) was a German association of architects, designers and industrialists, an important organization in the history of architectural modernism. ...
Transitional furniture Obviously not all furniture produced since this time is modern, for there is still a tremendous amount of traditional design being reproduced for today's market and then of course there is also an entire breed of design which sits between the two, and is referred to as transitional design. Neither entirely modern or traditional, it seeks to blend elements of multiple styles. It often includes both modern and traditional as well as making visual reference to classical Greek form and / or other non western styles (for example: Tribal African pattern, Asian scroll work etc).
Modern to contemporary Today contemporary furniture designers and manufacturers continue to evolve design. Still seeking new materials, with which to produce unique forms, still employing simplicity and lightness of form, in preference to heavy ornament. And most of all they are still endeavoring to step beyond what has gone before to create entirely new visual experiences for us.
The designs that prompted this paradigm shift were produced in the middle of the 20th century, most of them well before 1960. And yet they are still regarded internationally as symbols of the modern age, the present and perhaps even the future. Modern Classic Furniture became an icon of elegance and sophistication.
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