Red and Blue Chair Miniature – Gerrit Thomas Rietveld

Red and Blue Chair Miniature – Gerrit Thomas Rietveld

A painted wooden miniature of the famous Red and Blue Chair, designed by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld in 1918.

The miniature reproduces the radical structure of the original armchair: a grid of square-section wooden elements lacquered in black, intersecting and overlapping in a rigorous composition of vertical and horizontal lines. The backrest is red, the seat is dark blue, and the ends of the crossbars are highlighted in yellow.

A small object that perfectly preserves the graphic power of the original; more than just a miniature seat, it resembles an abstract composition brought into three dimensions.

The Red and Blue Chair is considered a 20th-century design icon and one of the most recognizable expressions of the De Stijl movement, which is founded on geometry, the use of primary colors, and the reduction of form to its essential elements.

The miniature shows slight traces and irregularities in the finish—consistent with artisanal craftsmanship—which are visible in the photographs.