D51 Armchair

Description

The D51 Armchair from 1922/23, with its backward-jutting armrests and straight back, looks pretty austere. “Straighten up,” it seems to whisper to the sitter. Its four wooden legs are arranged at an offset. The rear legs support the backrest, the front legs sweep freely into the room together with the protruding armrests.

D51was designed by the founder and thinker of the Bauhaus idea, Walter Gropius. He himself came from a family of great builders: Martin Gropius was his great-uncle. In quick succession, Gropius created what we today call modernity – a decisive break from and with the conventions of the past.