LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE (Germany, 1886 - USA, 1969) for KNOLL. Barcelona" lounger, design 1929 (Barcelona Universal Exposition). Polished stainless steel and black leather upholstery. Signed and with label. Includes matching neck pillow. Model reproduced and reviewed in "Charlotte & Peter Fiell. 1000 Chairs", p. 133. Measurements: 41 x 195 x 95 cm. The Barcelona sofa bed is a classic work of 20th century industrial design. Mies van der Rohe created it, together with the chair and the matching side table, for the German pavilion at the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition, a building which was itself a milestone in the architecture of the last century. Like the chairs, the ottoman was made with a polished stainless steel frame and leather upholstery. Rohe based his creation, in his personal line of modern classicism, on furniture used by Roman magistrates in antiquity. Today, the Barcelona chair, the ottoman and the matching side table are still produced by Knoll, the company that bought the licence from the architect in 1953. Modern models are produced in two different steel configurations, and in various types of leather in different colours. Today, examples of the Barcelona chair can be found in important collections around the world, such as the MoMA in New York. An architect and industrial designer, Mies van der Rohe trained with Bruno Paul and Peter Behrens, and opened his own studio in Berlin in 1912. Between 1930 and 1933 he directed the Bauhaus in Dessau, although the political situation in Germany forced him to emigrate to the United States shortly afterwards. There he continued his brilliant career, while at the same time teaching at the Illinois Technology Institute in Chicago. During his career he designed emblematic buildings, mainly in Germany and the United States, particularly his skyscrapers in New York and Chicago, the German Pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, and the NeueNationalgalerie in Berlin.