572 - Richard Riemerschmid

Richard Riemerschmid A music room chair by Richard Riemerschmid (1868 - 1957) Solid bog oak. Replacement upholstery fabric, newly upholstered, restored losses at the top of the backrest. Height 79.5, seat depth 43.5 cm. Designed in 1899, produced by Vereinigte Werkstätten München or Liberty & Co, London. Riemerschmid (1868-1957) designed the music room on commission from the Vereinigte Werkstätten for a music corner at the Dresden Art Exhibition of 1899, in collaboration with the Kgl. Bayer. Hofpiano-Fabrik of J. Mayer & Co. The response was consistently positive. Nerdinger regards the music room furniture as exceptional within Riemerschmid’s oeuvre and beyond, as it combines elements of Art Nouveau with the Werkbund’s principles of functional design. The Vereinigte Werkstätten, as well as Liberty & Co., London, which was also authorised to produce the chair from 1899 onwards, made slight alterations to the design. The carved decoration was omitted, and the diagonal supports were extended further downwards. The model was presented at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris. Literature Cf. Nerdinger (ed.), Richard Riemerschmid. Vom Jugendstil zum Werkbund, Munich 1982, cat. no. 74 f., fig. 3, p. 18, and fig. 17, p. 120.