Life and career
Origins and training
Rietveld was born in Utrecht and learned furniture-making in his father’s workshop. Evening architecture study and practical craft helped shape his approach.
Places, turning points and artistic change
The Red Blue Chair separated a chair into visibly independent parts. In the Schröder House, his collaboration with client and designer Truus Schröder extended this thinking into flexible domestic space.
Beyond the studio
He designed furniture and public buildings throughout his career. Naming Schröder and the makers who executed furniture helps explain the teamwork behind objects often credited to one famous designer.
Works across a career
Selected examples, not a complete catalogue. Read date ranges and attributions before inferring a career sequence.
Reading the selected works together
Compare the open assembly of the Red Blue Chair with the continuous-looking Zig-Zag and a house whose partitions can move.
- 01
1918–1923
1918–1923
Red Blue Chair
- Material / technique
- Painted wood
- Attribution / role
- Collection / source
- The Museum of Modern Art
Artist-wide context
Separate boards and planes helped him rethink how a chair or a room could be put together.
- 02
1924
1924
Rietveld Schröder House
- Material / technique
- Architecture
- Attribution / role
- See the museum attribution
- Collection / source
- Rietveld Schröder House
Designed with Truus Schröder, whose way of living shaped the plan.
- 03
1930s
1930s
Zig-Zag Chair
- Material / technique
- Furniture design
- Attribution / role
- See the museum attribution
- Collection / source
- Centraal Museum
A different solution to joining planes; production dates vary between examples.
Materials, marks and colour
Media and surface
Wooden components and joints make construction readable.
Marks and structure
Separate lines and planes let space continue through a chair or room.
Palette and light
Red, blue, yellow and neutrals distinguish parts rather than imitate natural colour.