Modern Furniture

Serena Yang

Modern furniture
Modern furniture refers to furniture produced from the late 19th century through the

present that is influenced by modernism. Post-World War II ideals of cutting excess,

commodification, and practicality of materials in design heavily influenced the aesthetic of
the furniture. It was a tremendous departure from all furniture design that had gone before
it. There was an opposition to the decorative arts, which included Art Nouveau,
Neoclassical, and Victorian styles. Dark or gilded carved wood and richly patterned fabrics
from the gave way to the glittering simplicity and geometry of polished metal. The forms of
furniture evolved from visually heavy to visually light. This shift from decorative to
minimalist principles of design can be attributed to the introduction of new technology,
changes in philosophy, and the influences of the principles of architecture. As Philip
Johnson, the founder of the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of
Modern Art articulates:

Michael Thonet
Michael Thonet (2 July 1796 3 March 1871) was a GermanAustrian cabinet maker, known for the invention of bentwood
furniture.

material and unique method

Michael Thonet is one of the most important innovators in bent wood
furniture making. Thonet patented a process of bending under heat several
layers of wood veneer glued together and laminated, and used the new
material to create curved back-rails and legs on chairs, contoured headboards
for beds and scrolled arms for sofas.

The most famous No.14 chair

The No. 14 chair is the most famous chair
made by the Thonet chair company. Also
known as the bistro chair, it was designed by
Michael Thonet and introduced in 1859.[1] It
is made using a unique steam-bending
technology, known as bentwood, that required
years to perfect. With its affordable price and
simple design, it became one of the bestselling chairs ever made. Some 50 million No.
14s were sold between 1859 and 1930, and
millions more have been sold since.

Thonet NO.1

Bend wood

THONET NO.5 settee

By 1900, the curvilinear furniture made possible by

Thonets techniques were widely produced by
furniture manufacturers in the U.S., where the
process was exploited to for mass production of
simple, inexpensive chairs and tables.

Stool

Thonet also developed a method of

bending solid wood and his bent solid
and laminated beech chairs with woven
cane seats and backs remain among the
most successful industrial designed
products of all time. Josef Hoffmann,
Otto Wagner and Adolf Loos, all of
whom designed for Thonet, made use of
his bentwood techniques to create classic
chair designs still produced or copied
today. Le Corbusier later used Thonet
furniture in his Pavilion de lEsprit
Nouveau at the 1925 Paris Exhibition.

Designer: Michael Thonet

c. 1870
Description: Rocking chair with a
dark wooden frame, and cane seat and
back.
History: This is a replica of the 1870
design. The rocking chair was
relatively unheard of in Europe until
Thonet designed this piece.

\
House Design, Beech Arms, Arms Michael,
Thonet 1796 1871, House Stuff, Michael
Thonet, Bentwood Open

Company or designers that still make Thonets

design:
THONET http://www.thonet.com.au/contact/
the chair no. 14 cleared the way for Thonet to become a global company.

Numerous pieces of bentwood furniture followed. Some models also

became icons of design history: the rocking chair no. 1 from 1860, later on in
the 19th century the successful models no. 18 and no. 56, around 1900 the
elegant no. 209 with its curved armrests, which Le Corbusier adored, and in
1904 the art nouveau armchair 247 by Otto Wagner, the so - called postal
savings bank chair, to name but a few. Thonet production peaked in 1912:
two million different products were manufactured and sold worldwide.

Thonet Today
Thonet Today
The success of the company Thonet GmbH in Frankenberg, Germany, began with

the work of master joiner Michael Thonet (1796-1871). Since he founded his first
woodworking shop in 1819 in Boppard, the name Thonet has stood for highquality, innovative and elegant furniture. Today, Thorsten Muck runs the company
with its head offices and production facilities in Frankenberg. Michael Thonets
direct descendants in the fifth and sixth generation remain involved in the
companys business as associates and sales partners. The collection comprises
famous bentwood furniture, tubular steel classics from the Bauhaus era, and current
designs by famous contemporary architects and designers.