It was designed by architect Gerrit Rietveld in 1917 and manufactured under his supervision before 1951 by his craftsmen Gerald van de Groenekan, De Bilt from Netherlands. It represents one of the first designs done by the De Stijl art movement.
Chair was originally designed in 1917 but variant painted in primary colors (red, blue, yellow) was applied later around 1923. Rietveld aimed for simplicity in his design. He designed furniture expected to be mass produced, not just handcrafted. With Red and Blue Chair Rietveld manipulated with vertical and horizontal planes in the same way he did in architecture. He hoped that the simple rectangular design would allow mass production and free the craftsmen from hard manual labor. Some of the first chair productions were made for the “Rietveld Schröder House” in Utrecht, Netherlands, also designed by Rietveld in 1924. The house is one of the best known examples of De Stijl architecture. Later it was converted into museum and listed as UNESCO World Heritage.
The De Stijl art movement was founded in Netherlands as the reaction against the horrors of World War I. The visual language of the movement was consisted of geometric forms and primary colours, which were used to find harmony and balance against the chaotic world events of that time.
The chair has its original colour and has never been repainted. It it one of the few original once which are existing.
