Prototype of the Mondial Chair, Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, 1957

steel (alloy), h c.76cm × w c.50cm × d c.55cm More details
© erven Gerrit Thomas Rietveld/Pictoright

In 1957 Gerrit Rietveld and his son Wim were commissioned to design a chair for the Dutch pavilion at Expo 58, the World’s Fair in Brussels. This is the prototype of that ‘global chair’, in which Rietveld realized his aim of ‘relieving mankind of all excess.’ On each side, the seat, back and legs come together at a single point, at the end of a steel tube.