Gerrit Rietveld, the architect of De Stijl

Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964) is one of the founding fathers of European modernism. A Dutch cabinetmaker turned architect, he joined De Stijl in 1918 alongside Theo van Doesburg and Piet Mondrian, and signed the same year the Red and Blue chair: a seat in wood slats painted red, blue and primary yellow, which became the three-dimensional manifesto of De Stijl. The Zig-Zag chair (1934) and the Schröder House in Utrecht (1924), UNESCO listed, would follow. His son Wim Rietveld, also a designer, would extend the legacy at Gispen.

The Red and Blue chair and Zig-Zag chair, reissued by Cassina, remain Gerrit Rietveld's most iconic pieces. Modernist vintage chairs to find for those wanting a historic signature of the Dutch De Stijl movement.