Gerrit Rietveld

Gerrit Rietveld
Born Gerrit Thomas Rietveld
June 24, 1888(1888-06-24)
Utrecht, NetherlandsDied June 26, 1964(aged 76)
Utrecht, NetherlandsBurial place Soestbergen Cemetery
Utrecht, NetherlandsNationality DutchOccupation Furniture designer, architectKnown for Red and Blue Chair(1917)
Schröder House(1924)

Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (June 24, 1888–June 26, 1964) was a Dutch furniture designer and architect.

In 1911, Rietveld started his own furniture factory, while studying architecture. Rietveld designed the Red and Blue Chair in 1917, but changed its colours to the familiar style in 1918 after he became influenced by the 'De Stijl' movement, of which he became a member in 1919, the same year in which he became an architect. In 1924 he designed the Rietveld Schröder House for Truus Schröder-Schräder, with whom he cooperated. The house, while guided by geometric forms, is asymmetrical. The house in Utrecht is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

Rietveld broke with the 'De Stijl' movement in 1928 and switched to the Nieuwe Zakelijkheid. The same year he joined the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne.

He designed the "Zig-Zag" chair in 1932 and started the design of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Red and Blue Chair (1917)