Gerrit Thomas Rietveld Black Red And Blue Armchair For CassinaA variation of the iconic 1918 chair by G. T. Rietveld, the Black Red and Blue wood armchair grew out of the Dutch master’s unflagging exploration and the clear evolution of the archetypal model with a view to the exploration of color.Lounge chair withframe in black-stained beechwood with whitecontrasting parts. Seat and back in green lacquered multiplywood.The armchair can have a single seat and backrest cushion in fabric orleather. This chair, produced for the school teacher Wicher Zeilmaker,is one of the numerous versions of the iconic model designed in 1918.After analysing the original pieces, it was discovered that the firstwas completely produced in unpainted wood. In the following yearsRietveld proposed various examples, monochrome or painted withother colours, depending on the clients necessities and the interiorsthat the chair would furnish. The first owners kept the chair in theirhomes as if it were an abstract sculpture but in some cases it wasused as a proper chair, with cushions to make it more comfortableStructure· In black-stained beechwoodwith white contrasting parts.Seat and back· On green lacquered multiplywood.The armchair can have a single seatand backrest cushion in fabric orleatherOne of the versions of the iconic model dated 1918. The structure is in black-stained beechwood with white contrasting parts. Seat and back in green lacquered multiplywood. The armchair can have a single seat and backrest cushion in fabric or leather.The Black Red and Blue (Zeilmaker version) born from Rietveld’s chromatic experimentationWhile researching the origins of the Red and Blue model in collaboration with the Rietveld heirs, it emerged that the key idea of the first prototypes was based on the concept of spatial organisation expressed through the monochrome tones of its elements. The first version was in fact produced in 1918 in completely unpainted wood. In the following years Rietveld proposed various examples, either monochrome or painted in different colours, depending on the requirements of his customers and the interiors for which the chairs were intended. As such, it comes as no surprise to find this 1920s version, presented as part of Cassina’s MutAzioni selection, created for the school teacher Wicher Zeilmaker with a black frame with white ends and a dark green painted seat and backrest. It was Rietveld’s ever-increasing involvement in the De Stijl movement that led him to also use primary colours on this model in 1923, and as such the chair became a veritable manifesto for the emerging neoplastic movement. Initially dubbed Slat chair, Rietveld only gave it the name Red and Blue in the 1950s following its chromatic evolution. The various owners of the different examples used the chair as an abstract- realist sculpture in their interiors and, in some cases, as a simple tool for sitting on, adding cushions to make it more comfortable, just like Cassina offers for the Black Red and Blue today.Important information regarding images of products:Please note that some of the images show other colors and variations of the model, these images are only to present interior design proposals. The item that is selling is on the first image.Important information regarding color(s) of products:Actual colors may vary. This is due to the fact that every computer monitor, laptop, tablet and phone screen has a different capability to display colors and that everyone sees these colors differently. We try to edit our photos to show all of our products as life-like as possible, but please understand the actual color may vary slightly from your monitor.About the Designer:Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, born in Utrecht on 24 June 1888, seems possessed of two personalities, each so distinct that one might take his work to be that of more than one artist. The first personality is that seen in the craftsman cabinet-maker working in a primordial idiom, re-inventing chairs and other furniture as if no one had ever built them before him and following a structural code all of his own; the second is that of the architect working with elegant formulas, determined to drive home the rationalist and neoplastic message in the context of European architecture. The two activities alternate, overlap, and fuse in a perfect osmosis unfolding then into a logical sequence. In 1918 Rietveld joined the “De Stijl” movement which had sprung up around the review of that name founded the year before by Theo van Doesburg. The group assimilated and translated into ideology certain laws on the dynamic breakdown of compositions (carrying them to an extreme) that had already been expressed in painting by the cubists: the “De Stijl” artists also carefully studied the architectonic lesson taught by the great Frank Lloyd Wright, whose influence was widely felt in Europe at that time.Collaborating first with Robert van’t Hoff and Vilmos Huszar, then with Theo van Doesburg and Cornelius van Eesteren, Rietveld soon became one of the most distinguished interpreters of the neoplastic message.Among his most important works are:the Schröder house at Utrecht (1924); the “Row Houses” at Utrecht (1931-34); the Dutch pavilion at the Venice Biennial (1954); the sculpture pavilion in the Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller at Otterloo and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (1955). Out of his equally important furniture, Cassina has chosen for its own production: the “Red and Blue” (1918), the “Zig-Zag” (1934), the “Schröder 1” (1923), the “Utrecht” (1935)About Manufacture:Established in 1927 by Cesare and Umberto Cassina in Meda, Italy, Cassina launched industrial design in Italy in the 1950s, based on a totally innovative approach that marked the transition from artisan production to mass production. With a mindset focused on research and innovation, Cassina combines technology and long-standing artisan craftsmanship. Memory, research, innovation. Cassina blends traditional skills and superior productivity, meticulous attention to detail and passion, uniqueness and experimentation, wellbeing and sustainability. Today, the company continues to address new lifestyles with the creation of complete, harmonious interior decor solutions that embody the best contemporary design for all areas of the home.