The Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer

The 1925 Classic That's Synonymous With Two Bauhaus Behemoths

Jan 29, 2009

Contrived from the very minimum of materials and maximum of inspiration, Hungarian-born Breuer's 1925 Wassily Chair is the perfect marriage of brevity and style.

With the deftness of a master artist bringing his canvas to life with a few broad brushstrokes, Breuer brought together a collection of steel and fabric that - at first sight - is the essence of austerity, but which manages to draw from its frugal base materials a stylishness that reaffirms the old adage “less is more”. Sporting the slightest of steel chrome-plated frames – inspired by the designer’s Adler bicycle – and upholstered in sparse layers of fabric that provide the seat and back-rest, the Wassily can lay claim to being the Modernist movement's most portable creation.

It is thought those who claim the chair was conceived as the “Wassily” – the name deriving from Russian abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky – are guilty of a slight anachronism. For – so the story goes – the chair only came to bear the eponym in the 1960s after Gavina, its then-Italian manufacturer, learnt that Breuer had fashioned one for fellow Bauhaus member Kandinsky, an admirer of the piece. Thereafter, the chair was universally referred to as the Wassily.

The chair itself shares similarities with other – mosty later – modernist designs. Mart Stam’s 1926 S33 chair and Mies van der roh’s 1929 Barcelona Chair come immediately to mind. The former borrows its bent tubular frame and the latter its slightly “cocked” seat, which describes a proud angle that is not perpendicular with the floor. Not only these two later pieces but all number of non-descript “Director’s Chairs” and camping stools bear more than a passing resemblance to the Wassily.

The reason for the chair’s influence among later Modernist and off-the-shelf designers is not hard to understand. In contrast to other pieces that the Modernist movement has given to the world, the Wassily design is refreshingly humble. The sitter cannot help but admire its pared-down design and equally marvel at the designer's facility for inspiring comfort. The designer excised all that was extraneous for this very reason. What we are left with is a chair that strikes the difficult balance of serving equally our sensibilities and our comfort.

The Wassily Today

The Wassily that is sold today remains for the most part faithful to the original Bauhaus design. However, the original upholstery's fabric, though still available, has been largely replaced by leather and the chair's straps by nylon.

A licensed Knoll Wassily comes in the following colours: black, light brown or white beige.

Prices & Sizes

The original Breuer Wassily chair is today manufactured under license by the American company Knoll . It retails at $1,600.00.

However, as is the case with most Modernist pieces, there are a number of faux or "inspired-by" Breuer Wassily chairs on the market. Invariably, the price reflects the materials and craftsmanship of the chair. A typical faux Wassily chair retails at around $320.

The copyright of the article The Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer in Collectibles is owned by Christopher Wilson. Permission to republish The Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.