Gerrit Rietveld – Dutch Furniture Designer and Member of the De Stijl Movement
Gerrit Rietveld – Dutch 1888 – 1964
Like many famous designers they began with design in their family. Gerrit Rietveld’s father was a cabinet maker and Gerrit used to work in the workshop with him.
He became a cabinet maker himself in 1911 and then persued architectural drawing classes.
His most famous chair – the Red Blue Chair was designed in 1917- 1918. It was not comfortable but the techniques and modular approach meant that it could be mass produced.
He designed furniture that fit into the new architecture. He used the cheap simple modular approach. He was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and a Dutch group called De Stijl, using the theory of using only Primary Colors and the Neutrals.
In 1919 Rietveld became one of the first members of the de Stijl movement. His Red Blue Chair design was published in the de Stijl Magazine in 1923 and exhibited at the Bauhaus.
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