Breuer was one of the first students--and then later a teacher!--at the Bauhaus art school (previously here) which operated from 1919 to 1933 and ushered in Modernism to the world. Inspired by the bent steel handlebars of his bicycle, he was very interested in a new technique of extruding steel into tubes to create the frame for the chair he referred to as the model B32. Lightweight yet sturdy, the design proved highly successful. In a later interview, Breuer said, "I already had the concept of spanning the seat with fabric in tension as a substitute for thick upholstery. I also wanted a frame that would be resilient and elastic [as well as] achieve transparency of forms to attain both visual and physical lightness... Mass production and standardization had already made me interested in polished metal, in shiny and impeccable lines in space as new components for our interiors. I considered such polished and curved lines not only symbolic of our modern technology, but actually technology itself."
In the early 1960s, the Italian furniture manufacturer Gavina Group acquired the rights to the design. The company’s founder and owner, Dino Gavina, decided to rename the chair “the Cesca” after Breuer’s daughter, Francesca. And in 1968, Knoll acquired the Gavina Group and is the license holder today. Indeed, it is one of the most copied chairs in modern design... my mom got a set for our dining table when we moved here to California in 1979. Mom had a good eye...
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| Cesca chairs at a Sarrinen tulip table by Studio Hagen Hall |
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| Cesca chairs with contrasting wood in dining room by Alicia Holgar |
You can purchase the Cesca chair through a designer or you can visit Knoll for more information.
Happy designing!
