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Erich Dieckmann (1896-1944) had already spent some time studying architecture in Danzig (Gdansk) and painting in Dresden, when he joined the Bauhaus in Weimar in 1921. After finishing the introduction course (Vorkurs), Dieckmann was admitted to the furniture workshop in 1922. In this department, which was supervised by Walter Gropius, Dieckmann and his friend and fellow student Marcel Breuer set out to develop a design vocabulary that would become exemplary for Bauhaus furniture. Shifting away from the expressionism of the first Bauhaus years, they focused on the design of so called Typenmöbel: furniture made out of standardized elements that would eventually be suitable for serial production.
 
The Bauhaus moved to Dessau in 1925. Dieckmann decided to stay in Weimar to become head of the cabinetmaker’s workshop of the Staatliche Bauhochschule, the successor to the Bauhaus. In this capacity he managed to broaden his model range considerably and realize his ambition of (limited) serial production.
 
As a result of political turmoil Dieckmann left for the Kunstgewerbeschule Burg Giebichenstein in Halle in 1931, where he was appointed to lead the cabinetmaker’s workshop again. (A position which he held for two years until he was dismissed by the National Socialists once more.) Dieckmann had already established strong ties with the German furniture industry and had expanded his fields of interest from wood to tubular steel and rattan as well, circa 1930. His furniture design achievements were published in a sought after 1931 monograph.
 
The chair on offer was designed in 1926-1927 when Dieckmann taught at the Staatliche Bauhochschule Weimar and were executed in the institute’s workshops. This particular chair was on display at the exhibition Netherlands? Bauhaus - Pioneers of a New World (Museum Boijmans van Beuningen Rotterdam, 9 February-26 May 2019), see last picture. Materials: stained oak, upholstery, chromed steel. Consistent with age and use: the chair has been re-upholstered in a durable cotton-linen fabric. The angle of the backrest was adjusted to a slightly more upright position at some moment in the past.
 
Dimensions: height 30.3 in. (77 cm), depth 35.8 in. (91 cm), width 25.0 (63.5 cm). Seat height: 15.7 inches (40 cm).
 
As contemporary photos show, this lounge chair was often complemented by a coffee table, which is on offer as well. We offer this chair and the matching coffee table as a combination for 6150 euros.
 
Literature:
- W. Lotz, Wie richte ich meine Wohnung ein?: Modern, gut, mit welchen Kosten? (Berlin 1930), p. 115, p. 121.
- Erich Dieckmann Möbelbau: In Holz, Rohr und Stahl (Stuttgart 1931/ Weil am Rhein 1990), p. 48-49.
- Exhibition Catalogue Erich Dieckmann: Praktiker der Avantgarde (Vitra Design Museum, 1990), p. 115, 117.