History of Design: Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer
Revolutions in design are most often driven by advancements in material and technology. The famous Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer is precisely one of these, the first ever chair to feature a bent-steel frame. While it was first created in 1926, it marked the beginning of a new era in modern furniture with a design that maintains a progressive look even today.
The Wassily Chair was first built by Marcel Breuer at the Bauhaus institution in Dessau, Germany. Breuer found his inspiration for the chair in the bent form of a bicycle handlebar, available for the first time in steel due to a development in technology. The German steel manufacturer Mannesmann had developed a process to produce seamless steel tubing, the first to allow tubes to be bent without breaking at the seam. Breuer’s Adler bicycle featured such tubing, which inspired the designer to employ this material in furniture.
The Wassily Chair was originally known as the Model B3 Chair, but was later marketed as the Wassily Chair after a story about Breuer’s friend and colleague at Bauhaus, artist Wassily Kandinsky. After first producing the Model B3 Chair prototype, Kandinsky was so enthralled with the chair that Breuer decided to produce another for Wassily Kandinsky himself. This friendship, and the later popularity of Kandinsky led the producers of the Model B3 Chair to change its name to the now famous Wassily Chair.
After going out of production for a number of years, the Wassily Chair was produced again shortly after World War II. The original Model B3 Chair featured a fabric seat, back and arm rests, but the re-introduced version was also available in white, black or brown leather. This design remains today, where it is still in production by Knoll Furniture and knocked off by many other producers.
The Wassily Chair is a classic like none other. Its design remains progressive even in comparison to the design world’s latest furniture. Its build is complex in appearance but simple in construction, a contrast which has earned its place in museums throughout the world, and in thousands of modern-minded homes. We have a pair here at TheCoolist, and we can say without a doubt that the Wassily Chair is one of history’s greatest pieces of modern furniture. Marcel Breuer may have passed in 1981, but we believe his legendary piece of furniture will never lose its relevance to the world of modern design.
The Wassily chair was a great step forward in its time, and the beauty of it so timeless it remains popular today.
As an interior designer, this chair has many qualities that make it highly desirable to designers and clients alike. Personally, I find the chair very comfortable and can sit in it for hours. It is light weight and easily moved, which only adds to its appeal.
The chair always blends with its surroundings, and unlike overstuffed furniture easily augments a setting but can dominate the room with a subtlety that is often unnoticed.
Luckily, I found two of these chairs in a garage sale – of all places – and gave them to my son who enjoys them to this day. Does he appreciate the history and style of the chairs he was given? Of course! This is his website!
Phil Payne
Thank you for loving these chairs and thanks for your time in putting up a smart article!
To the point…my wife and I have a love-hate relation to these chairs. I love and she appreciates less (not really hate.).
I was given them around 96′ in pieces. By that I mean disassembled methodically.
The story goes and I have no reason to not believe this…’They were in my parents garage since before I was born (75′ or so) and they were about to be pretty much given away in a garage sale. So I told my folks that I don’t know what they look like but they look pretty cool, so I’ll take them.’
It so happens that I ‘inherited them’ by circumstance and with a final note being; “I guess my parents tell me these were owned by friends of theirs who bought them in the late 50′s-early 60′s.”
The leather is a uncommon – grey, all pieces seem to be in tact (what a puzzle to put together!), the size is of what seems to be the original dimensions – i.e., larger rather than smaller, as smaller seems to be the normal course for more modern reproductions. No serial numbers on the underframe and no detectable stamps to the naked eye which seem to be important in terms of history and authenticity.
I am curious to know as to whether you, or someone you may know might be able to help in finding a bit more history/value in what I have sitting in my living room?
Thanks again,
Scotty