German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is, without doubt, one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture. The modern city, with its towers of glass and steel, can be at least in part attributed to his influence. Equally significant, if smaller in scale, is Mies’ daring design of furniture, pieces that exhibit an unerring sense of proportion, as well as minimalist forms and exquisitely refined details.
After an apprenticeship with furniture designer Bruno Paul in Berlin, he joined the office of architect Peter Behrens—where he met Le Corbusier and Walther Gropius. In the mid-1920s, he began to design furniture, pieces that he conceived and created for particular interiors.
Mies van der Rohe’s furniture is known for fine craftsmanship, a mix of traditional luxurious fabrics (like leather) combined with modern chrome frames, and a distinct separation of the supporting structure and the supported surfaces. His modern furniture pieces using new industrial technologies, like the Barcelona chair and table (1929), and the Brno chair (1930), have become acclaimed icons of twentieth-century design.