Set of two blond elm wood Biedermeier style chairs in immaculate condition with black leather upholstery. These chairs were found from France, but are of the Germanic Biedermeier style. Most likely they are Biedermeier revival chairs from the beginning of the 20th century. The yellow elm wood and the black seat of the chair clearly show how Biedermeier style set the way for Art deco and Bauhaus styles. These chairs are in perfect condition.
Chair’s Story
Biedermeier name was used, at first in a joking spirit, to a period of European culture and a style of furniture, decoration, and art originating in Germany and extending from 1815 to 1848. The Biedermeier period was very popular not only in Germany, but also in Austria. It found expression in comfortable, homelike furnishings, simple in design and less expensive in material, fitting the requirements and inspirations of the people in a time of little wealth following the Napoleonic Wars.
Biedermeier designs were simplified forms of the French Empire and Directoire styles and of some 18th-century English styles, and were often elegant in their utilitarian simplicity. Unfortunately, pieces designed after 1830 were often clumsy and tasteless, and the best of the Biedermeier style furniture were produced between 1820-1830. At their best, cabinets and other large Biedermeier pieces of furniture have functional and clean lines and surface. Chairs and sofas show curved lines, frequently graceful, but sometimes exaggerated into swellings and contortions. Light-colored native fruitwoods were typically used, with contrasting bands of black lacquer often effectively substituted for the costly ebony of Empire pieces. Painted decorations reminiscent of peasant types were common. Biedermeier style bases on beautiful simplicity and innovative use of local materials.
Biedermeier style regained popularity in all Europe in the beginning of the 1900. In 1896 Vienna applied arts museum set up an exhibition focusing on Biedermeir furniture and lifestyle. The many visitors to this exhibition were so influenced by this fantasy style and its elegance that a new resurgence or revival period became popular amongst European cabinetmakers. This revival period lasted up until the Art Deco style was taken up. Biedermeier also influenced the various Bauhaus styles through their truth in material philosophy. Not only is Biedermeier seen as a forerunner of Art Deco and Bauhaus but also other modern styles of design that are popular right now.
These two chairs are most likely Biedermeier revival chairs from France that were crafted in the beginning of the 1900.
| SPECIFICATIONS: | Two chairs in excellent condition. |
| MATERIALS: | Hardwood, elm, black leather |
| WIDTH: | 45 cm / 17.7 in |
| DEPTH: | 42 cm / 16.5 in |
| HEIGHT: | 100 cm / 39.3 in |
| SEAT HEIGHT: | 47 cm / 18.5 in |
