Conchoidal Chair without Arms (Elevation sketches, perspective sketch)
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
American, born Germany. 1886–1969
early 1940s
Ink-on-paper sketches of early studies for the Conchoidal Chair in which Mies van der Rohe tests curved seat-shells and support relationships to realize a cantilevered, armless chair.
The quick, economical pen strokes float across the page—three viewpoints drawn with looping, assured lines that make the form feel both light and architecturally precise.
These studies show how architectural rigor informed furniture design in modernism, privileging structural honesty and elegant reduction that could be translated to industrial production.
Medium
Ink on paper
Dimensions
8 1/8 x 6" (20.7 x 15.2 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Mies van der Rohe Archive, gift of the architect
Accession
1093.1974
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
