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Behind the Barcelona | Summer 2018 | REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION © VERO BEACH MAGAZINE CARLOS DOMENECH

Behind the Barcelona A fresh look at ’s contributions to modernism, the work of and the timeless Barcelona chair

WRITTEN BY TERESA LEE RUSHWORTH

ometimes, upon closer inspection, done, he joined them on the dais as the three were history relinquishes a previously awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962, four years after unknown tidbit of information. Franklin’s death from ovarian cancer at age 37. Occasionally, these tidbits reveal Exactly what contributions did these four, and prob- that someoneS has been overlooked, despite having ably many others, make? And why are some names made a notable contribution to humanity’s treasury remembered by posterity more than others? of knowledge and achievement. Such questions can be asked in every field, so let For example, James Watson and Francis Crick us jump from the sciences to the arts. The Barcelona have gone down in history for discovering the struc- chair, that mainstay of modernist decor, is credited, ture of DNA, that biological building block. But usually exclusively, to German architect Ludwig Mies have you ever heard of Rosalind Franklin? Perhaps van der Rohe. Mies looms large in any discussion of not. She was a bright and accomplished molecu- , the German avante-garde or lar biologist whose work played a major role in the the School. Meanwhile, Lilly Reich has been unravelling of the DNA mystery. A colleague of hers, relegated to barely footnote status, despite occupy- Maurice Wilkins, is also much less well known than ing exactly the same milieu as Mies and collaborating Watson and Crick; and yet, when all was said and intimately with him for 13 years, including the key When contracted to design the Coconut Grove condo of a bachelor in his 50s, Lourdes Fernandez-Grattan decided that a clean and timeless look was the answer. “The first piece added to the mix was one of my favorite chairs, the Barcelona, designed by Mies van der Rohe. This pairing of an elegant metal frame warmed up by an inviting leather seat and back has Above: Early 19th-century French version of the ancient curule seat by Francois-Honore-Georges Jacob-Desmalter, stood the test of time,” she explains. from the Rhode Island School of Design Museum

2 Tropical Home REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION © VERO BEACH MAGAZINE REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION © VERO BEACH MAGAZINE Tropical Home 3 period during which the Barce- central exhibition hall, designed lona chair came into being. several interiors and worked Born in Berlin in 1885, nine with Mies on the “glass room” months before Mies, Reich was — a large, flowing space charac- designing furniture and cloth- terized by movable panes of glass ing by the age of 26. At that time, that formed a visual interplay women with an architectural with the metal in the furniture bent were more likely to encoun- pieces selected for the room. The ter open doors in textile-related use of glass and metal, as well pursuits, which have long been as an emphasis on flexibility of associated with female exper- spaces, would become hallmarks tise. In 1912, Reich joined the of much of Mies’ work, from fur- Deutscher Werkbund, a German niture to skyscrapers. association of craftsmen and The following year, Reich industrialists founded in 1907 and Mies would step even far- with a view to promoting high ther out onto the world stage; standards in the manufacture, they would take their work to Lilly Reich (1885–1947) served as director and even mass-production, of of the interior design workshop at the Barcelona, where the epony- German-designed products, thus Bauhaus School. mous chair that was to become a increasing Germany’s economic signature piece for Mies, at least, competitiveness. This goal took would make its debut. on a new dimension in the wake of The German government that nation’s bitter defeat in World The Barcelona appointed Mies and Reich as War I. artistic directors of the delega- The Werkbund would chair represents tion representing Germany at the become a hub for architects and the perfect 1929–30 International Exhibi- designers with modernist sensi- tion in Barcelona. The “German The interior of the German Pavilion designed by Mies and Reich for the 1929–1930 International Exposition in Barcelona. The bilities. By the time Mies joined marriage of form Pavilion” at this world’s fair dis- chairs and stools that were to take the city’s name were the only furniture in the pavilion, which was disassembled after the the organization and rose in its tilled the Bauhaus modernist Exposition and rebuilt in the 1980s on the original site, according to the exact specifications, using identical materials sourced ranks, Reich had already become and function philosophy, which, as faculty from the same locales. the first woman elected to its sought by the members of the school, Mies and board of directors several years Reich both represented, into a several matching items, the quintessential Barcelona the logo. A lengthy and detailed timeline of the earlier, in 1920. She was making Bauhaus coterie classic structure of glass, metal chair is defined by certain distinctive design and company, its designers and merchandise pays ample a name for herself as a designer and polished stone. The fluid construction components: a minimal steel frame homage to Mies, but fails to mention Lilly Reich, who and organizer of exhibitions of designers. spaces, floating walls and hov- consisting of two crossbars connecting two curved was, at the very least, a co-designer of several items and trade fairs, which provided ering ceiling foreshadowed the “X” shapes, the bottoms of which form natural feet; touted by Knoll. opportunities to express her “international style” that Mies a series of leather straps attached to the crossbars The name of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is sure to avant-garde yet pragmatic point of view. Her signa- and many of his Bauhaus colleagues would later bring — 17 straps, to be precise, placed close together to be found in the index of just about any architecture ture aesthetic included placing raw materials at the to the United States. Since furniture requirements in maximize support; and two deeply upholstered, book one might pick up; Lilly Reich’s conspicuous forefront of a display, instead of allowing them to be the pavilion were minimal, the indoor and outdoor leather-covered cushions with 20 tufted, buttoned absence is curious, if for no other reason than, as relegated to the background. areas flowed together and were hardly distinguish- panels each. The chair represents the perfect mar- one scholar puts it, she and Mies “exchanged artistic It was via the Werkbund, when Reich returned to able. In fact, the furnishings consisted entirely of riage of form and function sought by the Bauhaus ideas constantly.” Berlin in 1926, after two years working in Frankfurt, what were to become known as Barcelona chairs. coterie of designers. But perhaps the most aston- In 1996, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in that she encountered Mies and launched more than a Intended originally to seat the king and queen of ishing characteristic of the Barcelona chair is that, New York City launched the first exhibition of Reich’s decade of professional and, by all accounts, personal, Spain during exposition ceremonies, the Barcelona though it was conceptualized according to modern- work, using items from its own collection. Thanks collaboration. chair was based loosely on the ancient curule seat ist sensibilities in 1929, its sleek lines and minimal to the bequest of Mies, who died in 1969, MoMA is Their first major project together was the used by magistrates and others with political and yet luxurious design still make it appear fresh and in possession of more than 800 furniture designs, 1927 Werkbund exhibition in Stuttgart, titled “Die legal authority in Rome and other cultures since at modern nearly a century later. working drawings and sketches by Reich, and some Wohnung” or “The Dwelling.” While Mies joined least the fifth century B.C. The curved, crossed legs Knoll, the company authorized since the 100 photographs of her completed works and instal- more than a dozen other noted architects in creating of the Barcelona chair bear a striking resemblance 1940s to manufacture the Barcelona chair, first by lations. An architectural model and two furniture an entire experimental village showcasing progres- to those of the curule chair. Mies himself and subsequently by legal decisions, prototypes were also featured. sive building styles, Reich oversaw the assembly of the Though the Barcelona collection grew to include engraves Mies’ signature into each piece alongside The New York Times, in an article released the

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The South Miami home of designer Lourdes Fernandez-Grattan is, she says, “a compilation of furniture collected throughout my design career. The pieces I have owned the longest are two Barcelona chairs with dark brown leather upholstery. They have been with me for over 15 years and have fit perfectly in three different homes.”

day after the exhibition’s opening, praises the show stifled by Nazi tyranny and the war, while Mies emi- for offering viewers the opportunity to “see with fresh grated to the U.S. in 1937. Also, Reich predeceased eyes the ideas developed by Reich and Mies when Mies by 22 years, dying only two years after the end modernism was new,” but criticizes the organizer of World War II. Once he was in America, the sky was of the exhibition, MoMA curator Matilda McQuaid, literally the limit for Mies, who went on to design for presenting a somewhat underwhelming body of such notable skyscrapers as the Promontory and Reich’s work, while failing to examine sufficiently the Lakeshore Drive apartment buildings in Chicago burning question of the degree of Reich’s influence and the 38-story in New York City. on Mies. And ultimately, it seems, this very question So how can we measure a person’s contribution to is the elephant in the room of Reich’s the arts, sciences or any other field? How can we dis- legacy. entangle one person’s influence from another’s? Some may jump to the conclusion In the case of the 200 or so songs attributed to that the magnitude of Reich’s contri- the Lennon and McCartney songwriting team, most bution has been downplayed because diehard Beatles fans have little trouble distinguish- she was a woman, and it is cer- ing Paul McCartney’s work from John Lennon’s. But tainly reasonable to things are not usually so clear-cut; intellectual prop- surmise that this is erty of all kinds travels in both space and time, and no a piece of the puzzle. one exists in a vacuum. After all, Mies was influenced But another piece may by both the ancient Romans and the German woman lie in Reich’s choice to by his side. There can be an almost infinite number of remain in Germany, reasons that one person is remembered by posterity where her career was and another forgotten. In most cases, we may never