Wood, varnished
Germany, 1st half of 20th century
After a design by Peter Behrens (1868-1940) - German architect, painter, designer
Literarure Cf. Exi.cat. Museum Künstlerkolonie Darmstadt, 1980, S. 6, Kat. Nr. 2
Dimensions: 101 x 43 x 50 cm, seat height: 46 cm
Good condition
Provenance: Private collection, Germany

Peter Behrens can be regarded as the German link between the transition phase of Jugendstil and early modern design. The design of his own villa in the Darmstadt artist colony at Mathildenhöhe took place under the Jugendstil maxim of ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ and ‘art and life’. This thought captured everything from the architecture of the house to the form and color of the wine glasses and also the interior of the house.

Present set of chairs presumably has been executed after the famous design by Peter Behrens. Manufacturer and provenance could not be clarified.

Condition:

The chairs are in good condition with usual signs of age and wear. The former white paint has been redone with green. One chair shows considerable signs of age. The seat covers have to be renewed. The chairs measure 101 x 43 x 50 cm, seat height: 46 cm.

Peter Behrens (1868-1940)

After graduating in painting from the academies in Karlsruhe, Düsseldorf and Munich, Peter Behrens was amongst the co-founders of the Munich Secession, which he left soon after to establish the Free Association of Munich Artists together with Lovis Corinth and Max Slevogt. The Darmstadt Artists’ Colony admitted him as a member in 1899, where he built the Behrens House as an autodidact architect. From Darmstadt Behrens went to Düsseldorf to serve as the director of the Academy (1902-1918). During this time he developed the font Behrens-Antiqua. The lettering ‘DEM DEUTSCHEN VOLKE’ at the Berlin Reichstag building by Paul Wallot is a creation of his and Anna Simons. As the artistic director of the AEG he developed a series of electronic products. In 1921, Behrens was appointed to the Düsseldorf Academy and in 1922 he took over the direction of the Master School of Architecture at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. In the late phase of his creativity Behrens mainly emerged through urban development projects in Berlin, such as the plan of Alexanderplatz.

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