Born in Hungary in 1902, Marcel Breuer studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna before joining the Bauhaus school in 1920. The institution, where all artistic disciplines were encouraged to collaborate, moved into its new building in Dessau five years later.
Young graduates were then promoted to the rank of masters. Recognized for his work with wood, and encouraged by Walter Gropius, who directed the school, Marcel Breuer was appointed head of the furniture workshop at this avant-garde institution.
Before the start of the academic year, he began exploring the use of tubular steel in furniture design. As the story goes, it was his new Adler bicycle — more precisely, the steel tubing of its handlebars — that sparked his inspiration.
The Beginnings of Tubular Furniture
The creation of the armchair owed much to the technical advances of Mannesmann, a German company producing smooth, seamless bent steel tubes. Years later, Breuer amusedly recalled the explanation given by a fellow architect: “They bend them like macaroni.” From this came the idea of turning them into furniture.
The B3 therefore consists of a square structure made from seamless steel tubing, without unsightly welded joints. Seat, backrest and armrests: the B3 frame is fitted with fabric straps positioned so that the user’s body never comes into contact with the cold steel.
The very first models were made using Eisengarn, a term that could be translated as “iron yarn.” In reality, it is a glossy waxed cotton material with excellent resistance to tearing. The thread, developed in the mid-19th century, was improved by Margaretha Reichardt, herself a textile artist at the Bauhaus. Later editions were fitted with leather or fabric straps.
A Sculpture in Space
Inspired by the volume and comfort of the classic club chair, with its low back and broad armrests, the B3 is similarly robust and stable.
The major difference lies in its lightness: it is easy to move, but above all its design introduced an aesthetic revolution.
“The chair is the most important element in an interior,” declared Marcel Breuer. “It is a sculpture in space.”
“The designer is searching for purity,” comments Emmanuel Jourgeaud, a dealer specializing in Bauhaus creations. “When you look at a Wassily, you have the impression that the chair is suspended in space. Marcel Breuer — like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at the same time — invented floating furniture.”
Comfort for Everyone
The designer’s aim was to create a chair suited to modern life, easy to mass-produce and inexpensive enough to be accessible to as many people as possible. The B3 thus helped launch the worldwide production of tubular-steel furniture.
In 1926, the chair was among the furnishings of the Bauhaus building in Dessau when it opened. It was also presented to the general public at an exhibition at the Dresdner Kunsthalle. The simplicity championed by the modernists was the complete opposite of “the heavy, floral fashion of the time,” continues Emmanuel Jourgeaud. This proposal based on industrial materials and stripped-back lines was considered cold and struggled to win over the public.
As industry was reluctant to commit, Marcel Breuer joined forces with his compatriot and colleague Kálmán Lengyel to create Standard Möbel. The Berlin-based company supplied models in tubular steel or aluminium designed by the pair, before Standard Möbel and its catalogue were sold to the Austro-German furniture manufacturer Thonet in 1928.
In the 1960s, Breuer’s design attracted the attention of Dino Gavina. The Italian manufacturer acquired the licence for the B3 club chair and produced it in Bologna from 1962 to 1968, with mixed commercial success.
A Tribute to Kandinsky
It was during this period that this version of the club chair was renamed “Wassily” for marketing purposes.
The manufacturer was paying tribute to Wassily Kandinsky, who was also teaching at the Bauhaus in the mid-1920s. The painter admired the innovative design so much that Breuer had an example made for him. Knoll International later took over production. The Italian company Fasem also produced versions during the 1980s.
From the Museum of Modern Art in New York to the Vitra Design Museum, these emblematic Bauhaus pieces have since entered museum collections.
by Cécile Ybert
Prices!
Prices for new examples are a long way from the designer’s original idea of furniture for everyone.
For second-hand chairs, expect to pay between €500 and €900 for most Gavina or Knoll examples.
Pre-war models can exceed €10,000.
Further Reading
- Marcel Breuer, a Bauhaus Architect in France, a podcast from radiofrance.fr about this internationally renowned designer and architect.
- The Bauhaus, an art school deeply rooted in the history of 20th-century art, brought together fine arts, craftsmanship and industry. Presentation of the movement created for the MAD exhibition in 2017.
- The Bauhaus Museum in Weimar opened in 2019 to mark the movement’s 100th anniversary. It offers an insight into the history of this revolutionary movement and its collections of everyday objects and furniture. 1 Stéphane-Hessel-Platz, Weimar.
- Emmanuel Jourgeaud: 5-element.fr
How to Identify Official Editions
Many fraudulent copies are in circulation.
As always, unusually low prices should be treated with caution.
According to Emmanuel Jourgeaud, “To recognize an official edition, often all you need to do is sit in it!” Authentic models stand out for their quality: carefully welded ends and a structure that is robust, stable and comfortable. “They are also heavier than copies,” the dealer adds.
Finally, recent models frequently bear identifying marks: Knoll stamps and numbers its armchairs. Somewhat ironic for “pieces designed according to the philosophy of the Bauhaus,” notes Emmanuel Jourgeaud.
Early B3 chairs feature a heat-stamped mark on the back of the leather, and since 1995, Marcel Breuer’s signature and the brand name have been engraved into the frame, with a label attached beneath the seat. Fasem and Gavina models also carry labels, while Gavina leather is stamped.
Cécile Ybert