Mies Van der Rohe, Barcelona chair for Alivar

LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE (Germany, 1886 - USA, 1969) for Alivar.
Barcelona" chair, design for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition.
Chromed steel frame, loose comfort cushions upholstered in black leather sewn with buttons.
Alivar stamp on the upholstery.
Measurements: 75 x 75 x 75 cm.

The Barcelona chair (model MR90) is a classic of 20th century industrial design. Mies van der Rohe created it, together with the ottoman and the matching side table, for the German pavilion at the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, a building that was also a milestone in the architecture of the last century. The chairs were so admired that they were used as thrones for the kings of Spain when they visited the Barcelona pavilion. They were seats with a structure made entirely of polished stainless steel, with the seat and backrest completely covered with pigskin upholstery. Later, in 1950, some adjustments would be made to the design for mass production. Van der Rohe based his creation, in his personal line of modern classicism, on the "sella curulis", a type of seat used by Roman magistrates in antiquity.

Architect and industrial designer, Mies van der Rohe trained with Bruno Paul and Peter Behrens, and opened his own studio in Berlin in 1912. Between 1930 and 1933 he directed the Bauhaus in Dessau, although the political situation in Germany soon after forced him to emigrate to the United States. There he continued his brilliant career, teaching at the Illinois Technology Institute in Chicago. During his career he designed emblematic buildings mainly in Germany and the United States, especially his skyscrapers in New York and Chicago, the German Pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, and the NeueNationalgalerie in Berlin.