en.wikipedia.orgImage source: Gerrit Rietveld
© The respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
Designer
Gerrit Rietveld
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (1888–1964) was a Dutch furniture designer and architect, born in Utrecht as the son of a joiner. He left school at 11 to work in his father's shop, studied at night school and worked as a draughtsman for the Utrecht…
Biography
Background
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (1888–1964) was a Dutch furniture designer and architect, born in Utrecht as the son of a joiner. He left school at 11 to work in his father's shop, studied at night school and worked as a draughtsman for the Utrecht jeweller C. J. Begeer before opening his own furniture workshop in 1917.
Signature Style
Rietveld built furniture and buildings from clearly separated elements — planes, sticks and boards meeting without disguise — aiming at simple construction and eventual mass production. A member of De Stijl from 1919, he later turned to a functionalist architecture of prefabrication and standardisation.
Notable Works
- Red and Blue Chair (1917)
- Rietveld Schröder House, Utrecht (1924), a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Zig-Zag chair (1934) and Utrecht armchair (1935), both produced by Cassina
- Dutch pavilion at the Venice Biennale (1953), Sonsbeek Pavilion, Van Gogh Museum design
Legacy
Amsterdam's art academy was renamed the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in his honour. Cassina reproduces his furniture in its I Maestri collection.
Collections
Products
Elling Buffet
Elling Buffet: Gerrit Thomas Rietveld's 1919 neoplastic sideboard, built by Cassina in ash.
Crate Lounge Chair
Low solid pine outdoor lounge chair from Gerrit Rietveld's Crate series, relaunched with HAY
Crate Dining Bench
Solid pine outdoor bench with armrests from Gerrit Rietveld's Crate series, relaunched by HAY
Crate Low Table
Low solid pine outdoor table with a square top and crossbars from Rietveld's Crate series
Crate Dining Table
Solid pine outdoor dining table with diagonal crossbars from Rietveld's Crate series for HAY
Crate Lounge Sofa
Solid pine outdoor sofa with armrests from Gerrit Rietveld's Crate series, relaunched by HAY
Crate Dining Chair
Solid pine outdoor dining chair with armrests from Gerrit Rietveld's Crate series, relaunched by HAY
Crate Side Table
Solid pine outdoor side table with a storage shelf from Rietveld's Crate series, by HAY
Utrecht Armchair
Rietveld's 1935 Neoplastic armchair of separate planes, made for serial production at Metz & Co
Red and Blue Chair
Rietveld's 1918 De Stijl armchair: a black beech frame carrying a red back and a blue seat
Utrecht Sofa
Rietveld's 1935 Utrecht armchair as a deep, generously padded sofa, by Cassina.
Zig Zag Chair
Rietveld's 1934 cantilevered chair: four solid-wood boards joined into a single Z
