1. Jugendstil
Since the beginning of the second half of the 1800s, an intense cultural debate is opened in Europe regarding the changes occurring in human environment due to the great expansion of the industrial production system.
The major supporter of the necessity of a new projectual vision is the english artist and theorist William Morris which, in a victorian era, tries for a mediation between an industrial production and craftsman inside the so-called Arts and Crafts movement. Morris' beliefs concerned the possibility of obtaining a better quality of life, of the environments and of the objects, by returning to the lost creative capacities of craftsmen, also applied to industrial mass.
It is the birth of a modern concept of design: craftsman projectual and artistic utility applied to mass production.
Only by the end of the century, though, a movement clearly destined to revolutionize for many years the taste and the perception of the built world, will be developed.
It is the Art Nouveau, that is the ensemble of architecture, furniture and objects characterized by the use of winding shapes clearly referring to nature. A vanguard tendency, soon adopted by cultured bourgeoisie, which foresees in it the possibility of a new style, capable of renewing the environment completely, in the name of the alliance between art and industry.
Victor Horta and Henry Van De Velde are in between the starters of this tendency in Belguim. From Glasgow it is Charles Rennie Mackintosh who begins his movement, starting from the building of the local School of Art. In Vienna, Otto Wagner and more decisively Josef Hoffmann brakes the existing conservative cultural tradition with the marvellous clearness of their projects.
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1.1. Charles Rennie Mackintosh
After 1890, Scotland saw the rise of a real world of an 'aestheticizing' geometry, which was born around Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) and the group 'The Four' which included, other than Mackintosh himself, also his wife Margaret MacDonald, her sister Frances and the brother-in-law Herbert McNair. This small community worked, for the most, on furniture and interior design, despite some of the buildings designed by Mackintosh, as the Glasgow School of Art, represent important steps in the history of architecture. (fig. 159).
In 1900, Mackintosh participated to an exhibition organized by the Wiener Sezession, which had been founded in 1897 and which holded Josef Maria Olbrich (1867-1908) and Josef Hoffmann (1870-1955) as its major representatives. It was Mackintosh who favoured the birth of a geometrical, almost cubic, style in Austria which, probably, considering all of the events of Jugendstil, is the nearest to our present-day creative ideals. Year 1903 saw the foundation of the Wiener Werkstàtte, which was able to give, in the 30 years of its existence, some fundamental contributions in the furniture sector, and not just to Austria.
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2. Beyond Jugendstil: Antoni Gaudì and Frank Lloyd Wright
Just a few, in between the forerunners of modern architecture, could escape the influence of Jugendstil; in the creations of some strong personalities, though, it is possible to find spacial shapes and furniture born from a universe of autonomous ideas.
The creations of Antoni Gaudi (1863-1926) takes root from catalan gothic. He considered as his main aim to transalate into modern language all those constructive ways used by his predecessors, which responded to his own ideas.
The sculptoreal furniture of Gaudì earns far too little attention, whilst the strength of his architecture and his spacial solutions are much more appreciated. His rich shapes, springing and growing organically from the material, as the fluctuating and free structures of Guell chapel, or the spaces in the house 'Mila' which resolves themselves one in the other, are the result of a happy union between Gaudì's fantasy and the extraordinary versatility of catalan craftsman. Projects like the seater in Parc Guell turned into sculpture and, with the rich chromatic and shape game of the glazed majolica mosaics, foreshadowed future developments. A plastic happy agreement between construction, structure and material from Gaudì's furniture emerged for the very first time, recalling the one being realized in our days with new materials and new production methods, as for example the furniture made in plastics.

Frank Lloyd Wright (1869-1959), was one of the major pioneers of modern architecture thanks to his enormous activity as architect, which already in 1900 had reached an astonishing artistic maturity, and to his numerous writings. Also in the furniture sector, his thoughts regarding shape and material, as his comparing himself with the most important artistic theories of the time, were of major importance. Other than being influenced by the essential geometrical shapes of Fròbel toys, Wright's ideas originated from the impressions that he received in his grandfather's farm. These impressions awakened in him a strong preference for nature and the tendency to a 'natural' use of materials. His activity in the studio of Louis Sullivan, the major american architect of the time, was of great importance in his vocational training, as were the intense relationships which he kept with japanese culture. In 1893 Japan exposed the copy of a typically japanese building at the Chicago Universal Exhibition, which was turned into a 'museum' for paintings and xylographies; Wright himself owned a considerable collection of these works. Wright visited Japan for the first time in 1905. The 'translation' of the japanese opened plant in the scenery of american cities outskirts, together with the attention given to historical and rustic ­ as for example those designed by Henry Hobson Richardson ­ and the return to the english tradition of a fireplace in the middle of the house, brought to the creation of the so-called "prairie houses", which Wright projected between 1900 and 1910, constituting his first important contribution to modern architecture (fig. furnishings). (fig. furniture).
In his article "Prairie Architecture" of 1931, inside the book "Modern Architecture", Wright set out his ideas on the 'prairie house'. He had the firm belief that the right thing was to "reduce to the minimum the number of necessary elements and of single environments inside a house, and to connect everything as a fenced space, articulated in such a way that light, air and view could confer a sense of unity". All of the proportions of the house had to be "human in a free way". He wanted ­ as far as possible - "the furniture to hold an organic architecture role", he desired to "identificate them with the building and to project them in simple forms which could be realized with machines. Once again straight lines and right-angled shapes".
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3. From de Stijl to the International Style

3.1. De Stijl furniture
A group of painters, architects and sculptors called 'de Stijl' joinde up in the dutch town of Leida in 1917, with the aim of "renewing art radically". The neoplasticism, brought to life in painting by Piet Mondrian and Theo Van Doesburg, which was characterized by a clear geometrical order and by recalls to cubism, was transferred to other sections of art and architecture. The so-called "Neue Gestaltung" (new modelling) became the leading concept, the key-word of de Stijl.
The starting point of de Stijl architecture was constituted by a cube. Spacial delimitation through autonomous surfaces, arranged in between themselves in a right angle, was not conceived in a static manner, but understood as part of a principle which could be broadened to infinity (fig. 207). In such a way, on a theoretical point of view, the building was considered as a part of the sorrounding space. (fig. 207). Starting from the example given by Mondrian, only primary colours were adopted: red, blue and yellow; whilst white, black and grey were considered only as contrasting colours. The few interior designs realized, as the coffee shop or the cinema Aubette in Strasburg by Theo Van Doesburg, or house Schròder in Utrecht (fig. 210), by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, were built with the application of these principles in a coherent way.
This analytical method brought to new building possibilities and to a new plant. The house grew from the floor freely, and the roof became a terrace, a kind of 'open-air' floor. At the time, all of these problems were completely new and no one got interested in them as much as the young architects and painters did.
Furniture by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (1888-1964), under a technical point of view, are new contructions, which has almost nothing left in common with the traditional carpentry creations. They are to be understood, both considering their structure and their colouring, in their 'manifesto' role.
Theoretical-artistic considerations were at the base of de Stijl furnitures; many projects could have lead to a mechanical production immediately. Most of Rietveld's furniture, born in the following years, was produced in limited series, as for example the "Grate Furniture' of 1934, with furniture which could be broken up by the customer and re-combined together in different ways. The "Zig-zag" chair, the series-created chair by Rietveld, found many imitators and is nowadays being produced again.
The deep theoretical and journalistic activity of Theo Van Doesburg, who kept numerous conferences and organized many exhibitions, influenced the architects of the warlike generation, which were particularly receptive towards theoretical considerations. If we were to think of the first years of activity of the Bauhaus, it would be impossible to view them without the "Neue Gestaltung" of de Stijl, without Mondrian and Van Doesburg; as it would be impossible to see the activity of Marcel Breuer without the previous works by Rietveld. Furniture by Rudolf M. Schindler from Vienna (1887-1953) for his 1930s californian houses, were much influenced by de Stijl ideas, and had an impressive using value. Simple, essential and economic interior design, which would have deserved more consideration.
The spacial idea of de Stijl ­ the cubic space, where the walls didn't have a 'separation' function, but an articulating one ­ became the elementary bases of spacial concept in the International Style. For this reason, it is possible to see an expression of the strength of a concept and of a program which has remained valid up to our days, despite just a few practical applications were done.
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3.2. The Bauhaus: furniture by Marcel Breuer and Mart Stam
The Staatliches Bauhaus Weimar, the most important school of the 1920s for the development of architecture and design guided by Walter Gropius, was born in 1919 as a 'continuation' of the school of applied art of Saxon Grand Duchy (which was founded by Henry Van De Velde in 1906 and much owed to the ideas of William Morris, John Ruskin and the institute of figurative arts of the Saxon Grand Duchy).
The artist-craftsman theorized by Gropius was supposed to hold in equal measure both experience in the use of materials and aknowledgements in the theory of modellation. This would have given the artist a complete vision of the problems and the capability of shaping the objects adequately depending on the materials used. The studying program at the Bauhaus had two parallel courses: the Werklehre (technical teaching) and the Formlehre (formal teaching). In 1925, Gropius wrote in his Grudsàtze der Bauhausproduktion (principles of Bauhaus production): "The Bauhaus wants to give a contribution to the development of a way of living which keeps up with the times: its interests goes from simple furnishings to a complete house. In the belief that both house and furnishings are to stay together in a more significant relationship, Bauhaus tries to find, in a constant research work ­ in theory and in the usual procedure, in formal, technical and economic fields ­ the 'shape' of every object, starting from its functions and from its natural determinations (Š) One thing is determined by its essence. To give it a shape, in order for it to work out adequately ­ may it be a chair, a house or a container ­ it is necessary to study the essence as first thing. It must, in fact, realize its purpose completely, in other words it should fulfil and carry out its functions and be durable, economic and 'nice'. This research on essence leads to the result that, through a careful consideration of all production and construction methods of modern materials, new shapes are born, producing surprising and unusual effects, shifting from tradition.
Marcel Breuer (born in 1902) reached Bauhaus as student towards the end of 1920. He contributed decisively, since the beginning, to furniture evolution inside this school. At first, his projects still showed influence clearly derived from Expressionism, from de Stijl and from Constructivism. His main interests were soon addressed to problems regarding a standardization in furniture construction fields and, later, also in architecture ones. Already in 1922, he presented a fitted modular kitchen: a really revolutionary novelty at the time. In 1924, Breuer became Head of the furniture section, and with the rise of a Bauhaus in Dessau (1925-26), where the school was transferred to for political reasons, he was given a first great possibility of applying his own theoretical and practical knowledges.
The chair "Wassily" (fig. 229), today still on market, is the first chair created by Breuer in 1925, entirely made of steel tubes. It was made of Mannesmann nickel tubes, soldered at its joints. His first bycicle gave Breuer the idea that also furniture could be created using steel. He wrote: "At the time I had already thought of substituting the thick stuffing of the seat with a length of tight cloth. I also wanted an elastic and flexible framing. By virtue of the interaction between the tight cloth and the elastic elements of the framing, these furnitures were supposed to offer a bigger comfort, moreover not resulting stout. I tried to reach a certain transparency of the shape, therefore both an optical and a physical lightness as well. During my studies on series-production and on standardization, I soon discovered smoothed metal, luminous and pure lines in the space which could be the new elements of our furnishings. In these luminous and curved lines, I could see a technique in general, and not just the symbols of a modern technique". In any case, the invention of a tube metal-made furniture was not a contribution exclusively brought by Breuer or by the Bauhaus. Its birth was in the air ­ maybe because the curved wood used for Thonet chairs was to be substituted by steel. Mart Stam and Mies van Der Rohe, both very near to Bauhaus despite non-members at the time, soon thought up similar furniture.
Mart Stam (born in 1899) took part to a preparatory conference for the Werkbund Exhibition in Stuttgart in 1926. During this event he described a prototype of a chair made up of steel tubes, lacking the hind legs ­ the first furniture of the type which was later produced in series with the name of "S 34". To avoid the breaking of the material due to continuous stresses, the metal tubes were strengthened with a second tube inserted inside the structure. Some months later, Mies Van Der Rohe presented his "MR" chair at the Werkbund Exhibition: an elastic and flexible chair made of tubular steel.
Tubular steel-made furniture responded both to the main idea of functionalism ­ after which shape should respect function ­ and to series-production necessities.
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3.3. The International Style: Mies Van Der Rohe and Le Corbusier
In the late 1920s, beginning of 1930s, a new formal language reached its top in architecture, with a classical type of expression. A language which had been given advance notice by the creations of Sullivan and Loos, and which was prepared directly by the activity inside the de Stijl and the Bauhaus: the International Style.
The social, aesthetic and technical principles of the International Style were valid also for interior design. From this point of view, the new spacial concepts and the prototypes by Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, Le Corbusier, Mies Van Der Rohe and Alvar Aalto, had an importance for furniture evolution which was equal to the role their buildings had in modern architecture.
Already Mies van der Rohe's (1886-1969) first furniture project, the one on the steel tubular 'MR' chair presented in 1926, was characterized by its delicate elegance and a clear and complete shape. In realizing the german pavillion at Barcelona 1929 universal Exhibition, Mies was given the chance to present exemplarily his own spacial concepts, without obbeying to practical necessities. An architectural masterpiece was born from this which, despite it has been demolished at the end of the exhibition, belongs to the most important creations of the20th century. The concept of space was seen, in the full de Stijl spirit, as fluid. The armchair "Barcelona" (fig. 241), created for the exhibition, has conquered world fame together with the furniture created by Brùnn for the house Tugendhat in 1930. In these realizations, clearness, harmony and perfection in the choice and in the workmanship of the materials merge in an ideal way.
Le Corbusier (1887-1965) has created just few furniture. (figg. 250 - 251 - 252) For his first villas he usually prefered (also in economic terms) the "Thonet B 9" chair, sometimes the anonimous interwoven wicker chair, but also the simple garden iron chair. Some theorical works of the period around 1922, the projects for the so-called "immeubles-villas" ­ in which the advantages of the singles house were to be reproduced in blocks of buildings with many floors ­ showed ample environments, with furniture chosen in a most casual way. Furniture sketched in these projects present a remarkable mixture between very comfortable chairs and armchairs on one hand, and cubic cupboards and drawers on the other. Such kind of solution was realized in 1925, at the Pavillon de l'Esprit Nouveau, which was the model of an inhabiting cell of the "immeubles-villas". Furniture was reduced to minimum; the cupboards, as the modular elements, bodied with the walls: man had to live 'in the space' and not 'between the furniture'. In the deck armchair designed in 1928 (figg. 250 - 251 - 252) which was produced in series in the late 1950s as were the furniture by Mies Van Der Rohe, Le Corbusier found a shape which was ideally adequate to the human body, perfectly solved in its formal aspect.
The decisive contribution by Le Corbusier is represented by his new spacial concepts which, by moving from the ideas of Loos, found realization, at first, in his huge villas. An example could be Villa Savoye, built between 1929 and 1931 in Poissy (figg. 245 - 246) : the cubic-shaped building, is lifted from the floor and flights of stairs connect spaces and environments to one another. The hanging garden connects the house to nature, but the severe white factory body contrasts with the surrounding green. Also in these constructions, the furniture sometimes represent unrelated objects, as something being inserted in a second time, in a mobile way, which belongs to man and not to the building itself.
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4.International Style postwar evolution: Charles Eames, Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, ...

After the forced closure of Bauhaus in Dessau in 1932 and its short interval in Berlin, Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and others emigrated in the United States. The main International Style architects found in the United States a new working context.
The most important event was the competition "Organic Design in Home Furnishings", already advertised in 1941 by the Museum of Modern Art on the initiative of Bloomingdale Department Store of New York. Charles Eames' (born in 1907) and Eero Saarinen's (1910-1961) teams were awarded the first prizes for seating furniture. The design of chairs proposed by the two architects - three-dimensional chalices - without the right angle, marked the passage from the formal interpretation of Breuer and Aalto with their bidimensional curved chairs, to the new concept of "sculpture-furniture", whose technology was extremely modern. Most of the furniture manufactured by Herman Miller firm, in collaboration with Charles Eames, up to the sixties, was deeply influenced by the results of that competition (fig. 319).
In America, the development in the building of skyscrapers for offices, due to the diffusion of Mies van der Rohe's ideas, gave to Knoll Associates the opportunity to introduce Bauhaus' functionalism into American architecture. Architecture technical perfection required the absolute perfection of interior design. That need led to an ever-stronger collaboration between modern furniture companies and young designers.
Since 1943, Eero Saarinen started working as designer (fig. 327) for Hans (1914-1955) and Florence Knoll (born in 1917), who were designers themselves. In 1951, Florence Knoll established a few branch offices in Germany and France; in 1955 the furnishings designed by Miles van der Rohe in the prewar period were included in production programs. In the following years, the company took advantage of the collaboration of prestigious designers such as Harry Bertoia (born in 1915, fig. 324) and, after the takeover of the Italian company Gavina, Vico Magistretti, Tobia Scarpa and many others.
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