Modernists Abroad

German Building Exhibition; Berlin, Germany

Mies van der Rohe served as the artistic director for the 1931 exhibition The Dwelling in Our Time. Philip Johnson visited the exhibition and wrote of Mies’s contribution, a house for a childless couple:

“Ornament is absent in the Mies house, nor is any needed. . . . The essential beauty of the house lies in handling the walls as planes and not as supporting elements. Mies has so placed these planes that space seems to open up in every direction, giving the feeling of openness that, perhaps, more than anything else, is the prime characteristic of modern architecture.”

Mies’s Barcelona chair, with its crisscrossing legs, is seen in the foreground of the exhibition photo at right and also below.

© Estate of Lüdwig Mies Van der Rohe / SOCAN (2019).

Watch the video

Black-and-white exhibition installation view showing a minimalistic arrangement of modern furniture, including Barcelona chair

The collection

Strap-steel-framed chair with crisscrossing legs and tan leather-covered cushions.

1929

Barcelona Chair

Designed by: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969)

Material: Stainless-steel, horsehair, leather

Produced by: Knoll International, New York, New York

Dimensions: 78.5 x 74 x 76 cm

© Estate of Lüdwig Mies Van der Rohe / SOCAN (2019).

Transcription

0:00:00 – 0:00:13

The city of Stockholm is highlighted by a luminous circle on an old map on the left side of the image. The map moves to simulate a movement from Stockholm to Berlin. At the same time a black and white video shows images of a moving train and a busy train station on the right side of the image. The sound of a moving train plays in the background. Deustschland is written in white on a black background in the center of the image.

0:00:13 – 0:00:34

A detailed and colourful map of Berlin is displayed on the left side of the image. Berlin is written in white on a black background in the centre of the image. On the right side of the image, black and white videos scroll; vehicles in motion, a terrace on a busy street, people on the move and people dancing. Music and city sounds play in the background.

0:00:34 – 0:00:41

A detailed and colourful map of the city of Stockholm highlights the location of the Deutsche Bauausstellung. On the right side of the image, a black and white photo of a lady inside the Deutsche Bauausstellung is displayed . Music plays in the background.

0:00:41 – 0:00:44

The city map of Stockholm disappears to give way to a black and white photo of Deutsche Bauausstellung Berlin. On the right side of the image, a second black and white photo shows the inside of the Deutsche Bauausstellung. Music plays in the background.

0:00:44 – 0:01:05

A black and white picture of the Deutsche Bauausstellung’s architect appears on the left side of the image. On the right side of the picture a black and white photo shows one of the Deutsche Bauausstellung rooms. Music plays in the background.