Knoll International Wassily armchair
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Knoll International Wassily • Armchair
In an interview with a Knoll historian, Marcel Breuer described how he began experimenting with bent steel tubing while he was at the Bauhaus:
"At that time I was quite idealistic. 23 years old. I became friends with a young architect and bought my first bicycle. I learned to ride a bicycle and spoke with this young man and told him that the bicycle seemed to be a perfect invention, since it hadn't changed in the last twenty, thirty years. It still had its original bicycle shape. He said: 'Have you ever seen how they make these parts? How they bend these handlebars? You'd be interested, because they bend these steel tubes like macaroni.'"
"This somehow stayed in my mind, and I began thinking about steel tubes bent into frames - probably that's the material one could use for an elastic and transparent chair. Typically, I was very occupied with the transparency of form."
"That's how the first chair was made... I realised that the bending had to continue. It had to be bent only, without welds on it, so that it could also be chrome-plated in parts and assembled. That's how the first Wassily was born. I myself had a certain degree of fear of criticism. I actually didn't tell anyone that I was carrying out these experiments. [Wassily] Kandinsky, who happened to come into my studio when the first chair was brought in, said: 'What is that?' He was very interested, and then the whole Bauhaus became very interested in it. A year later I had furnished the entire Bauhaus with this piece of furniture."
- Original design by Marcel Breuer: the frame bears the Knoll logo and the designer's signature, permanently confirming the authenticity of the piece.
- New colour variants since 2024: the ultra-matte finishes in dark red, onyx and white give the iconic Bauhaus classic a modern, contemporary aesthetic without altering its original character.
- Frame: seamlessly shaped round steel tubing - high-gloss chrome-plated or epoxy-coated in onyx, white and dark red, each ultra-matte. Sled frame with plastic glides.
- Frame colours in detail: on the onyx and dark red frames, the screws are burnished and the glides black; on the white frame, the screws are zinc-plated and the runners white.
- Core leather: heavy-duty cowhide core leather in five colours.
- Belting leather: highly durable Spinneybeck core leather, available in a wide range of colours.
- Fur: Spinneybeck fur in four colours. Fur is a natural material, so the pattern is always unique. Each piece will differ.
- Canvas: linen in its natural colour.
- Glides: supplied with every chair.
- Note: the "KnollStudio" logo and Marcel Breuer's signature are embossed into the chair frame.
Please note that the images shown are for illustration purposes and may differ from the actual final product.
- Dimensions: height 73 cm x width 79 cm x depth 69 cm
- Seat height: 42 cm
- Arm height: 58.5 cm
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