Gerrit Rietveld
The Netherlands (1888—1964)After training in a goldsmith’s workshop, Rietveld attended evening classes to qualify as a technical draftsman. In 1911 he joined the Kunstliefde artists’ association and established his own furniture workshop in Utrecht. In 1919 he became a member of De Stijl, applying its principles to furniture and architecture. The Red and Blue Chair, designed in 1918, became one of his most iconic works and was later exhibited at the Bauhaus. In 1924 he designed the Schröder House in Utrecht, a landmark of De Stijl architecture. He later joined CIAM (Congrès International d’Architecture Moderne) and went on to create numerous iconic pieces of furniture, including the Zig-Zag Chair, as well as buildings and interiors. Among his most important late works was the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which was completed and opened in 1973, nine years after his death.
