Iconic Furniture Designers of the 20th Century
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret
- Le Corbusier, or Charles-Édouard Jeanneret was a pioneer of modern architecture. He designed some of the most famous furniture you recognize. He traveled around Europe influencing major players–he is considered one of the first-ever industrial designers.
Marcel Breuer
2. Marcel Breuer attended Bauhaus where he designed some of the most famous chairs of the 20th century. He focused on the technologically simple to create a complex whole. The Wassily chair was inspired by bicycle handles–it appears very simple, but took a lot of engineering to bring it to fruition.
Vico Magistretti
3. Vico Magistretti was a humanist architect and industrial designer from Milan who joined his father’s design firm young. He mostly focused on creating buildings until the 70’s. He later became the main designer for Oluce where he created long-lasting masterpieces and won the company many awards.
Charles and Ray Eames
4. Charles and Ray Eames are furniture designers responsible for one of the most popular lounge chairs ever created. The Eames chair is still often purchased today to create a finished living room set that will last for years. This married couple dabbled in many artistic projects, but these chairs are their lasting legacy. There are many replicas, but the originals are difficult to source. You can tell if yours is an original based on the black lowercase label, 5 legs, inability to recline, full 360 degree rotation, 5 layers of molded plywood, matching veneer (wood cut from a single log), bottom cushion is the same size as the chair cushion, and price. Replicas will sell for around $1,200 while you can expect to pay over $5,000 for an original.
Oscar Niemeyer
5. Oscar Niemeyer was a key figure in the development of modern architecture. His buildings relied on curved and angled forms. The invention of concrete technology allowed him to play with physics in an arching and grand way. He evolved far from neo-classical design and paved the way for the future furniture designers.
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