DESIGN OBJECTS - The armchair Red & Blue (1918) by Gerrit Rietveld
The armchair RED AND BLUE (1918) is one of the few design pieces whose design is internationally recognizable. It has no precedents; therefore, it became a symbol that marked the career of its creator Gerrit Rietveld, embodying the theory that stands behind the built-in concept.
The structure is made entirely in wood, and it is a continuous game of overlapped and crossed elements. The original model from 1918 was made in oak wood, with no colors at all, because the inventor wanted to make evident the sculptured skeleton.
However, a year later, Rietveld slightly modified its design and decided to paint its parts. The geometry and the construction of this armchair became a cult thanks to the recognizable colored parts: the base structure was painted black, while the extreme cuts of all elements were in yellow. Red and blue were used correspondently to paint the backrest and the sitting.
At that time, the young Rietveld was searching for a way to express the two-dimensionality in Neoplasticism.
This armchair was discontinuously produced until 1973, when the Italian producer Cassina made a licensed reproduction. Since then, the Red and Blue, a cult design of Modernism, is made in Italy.
Today Cassina is making the traditional version, but also introduced new one having the structure painted black, while backrest and sitting painted green, and with a soft-padded upholstering cushion for the sitting and backrest in fabric or leather.
For all the technical information look directly on the website of the producer company WWW.CASSINA.COM
Best wishes,
N.
PS: questo video non è sponsorizzato.
Photo: Cassina.