Marcel Breuer

Marcel Breuer – Craftwork, art and design combined at the Bauhaus

Marcel Breuer was born on 21 May 1902 in Pécs, formerly part of Austria-Hungary. He began studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 1920 with the help of a scholarship but terminated it after just a few weeks to move to the State Bauhaus in Weimar where he initially attended Johannes Itten’s preparatory course. This was followed by a joiner’s apprenticeship with Walter Gropius and in June 1923 he produced his journeyman’s piece, the lady’s dressing table from the model house ‘Am Horn’ in Weimar. By the time he passed his examination in 1924, he could already look back on numerous avant-garde furniture designs. His early work anticipated the characteristic approach of his later methods: all pieces were assembled from uniform, only slightly variable individual pieces. This modular principle was not concealed by its creator but quite deliberately emphasised – by clearly visible screw fittings, for example. As an employee in Walter Gropius’ architectural office, Marcel Breuer was also involved with the first house designs. 

International breakthrough as inventor of tubular steel furniture

Although Marcel Breuer did not follow a classical architectural education at the Weimar Bauhaus, he still saw himself first and foremost as an architect. After a number of pioneering designs – Breuer was the first furniture designer to use tubular steel for his models – he left the Bauhaus to be able to develop more freely. There were also financial disputes as he did not wish to relinquish his income from furniture production to the Bauhaus, which constantly stood under economic difficulties. He worked together with industrial companies in the production of his furniture, for example with Junkers-Flugzeugwerke (aircraft manufacturer) in 1925 and notably the company Thonet from 1929. The enormous success of the novel tubular steel furniture attracted numerous plagiarisms and led to complex legal disputes, some off which have still not been resolved today. Breuer found it difficult, however, to establish himself as an architect: the Association of German Architects initially denied him membership, and interesting contracts were rare. He was though, at least, able to advise the Frankfurt entrepreneur Harry Fuld on various building projects. 

Breuer realises his architectural ideal in exile

With his interior of the apartment of the Berlin theatre director Erwin Piscator, Breuer created a highly regarded example of modern living, but then was forced to flee the National Socialist rule to Hungary in 1933 due to his Jewish origins. He eventually landed in the USA via London in 1937 where he soon received a teaching contract at Harvard University. He occasionally worked again as an architect with his old partner Walter Gropius before opening his own architect’s office in 1941. His increasing success in this field eventually led to him giving up teaching and Breuer devoted himself entirely to his architectural ideal of a White Modernism. In 1952 he received together with Bernard Zehrfuss and Pier Luigi Nervi the contract for the construction of the UNESCO building in Paris, and also designed the department store De Bijenkorf in Rotterdam with Abraham Elzas. Marcel Breuer was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Marcel Breuer died on 1 July 1981 in New York City.