Chair

The history of the chair is long and diverse, with distinct styles emerging in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and China. In Renaissance and Baroque Europe, designers of the most coveted chairs tended towards a great deal of embellishment. In the 19th century, designers sought out means of making more comfortable chairs for everyday use, and groups such as the Arts and Crafts Movement and the Wiener Werkstätte created simple, vernacular designs that could be more widely produced and obtained. In the 20th century, a number of iconic modernist styles of chair emerged, envisioned by designers such as Marcel Breuer, Charles and Ray Eames, and Gerrit Rietveld.