GERRIT RIETVELD FOR GERARD VAN DEN GROENIKAN

In 1923, Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (1888-1964) was commissioned to design furniture for the Catholic Military Home in Utrecht. The horizontals and verticals of these designs are connected by halved joints reinforced with strong nuts and bolts. The tops of the stool and the table and also the seats of the chairs do not rest directly on the verticals, but on a number of slender cross bars, thereby creating a light spatial construction. The Military stool was originally made in various colours: black/white and different shades of grey. Later examples of the stool have a square top whereas the early pieces show a rectangular top as seen in the present lot.