Logo image
Logo image

The Wassily Chair in Black: Seriousness and Contemporaneity

4 minutes
When choosing the furniture that decorates a home, we must consider the Wassily chair in black, as it's serious and contemporary.
The Wassily Chair in Black: Seriousness and Contemporaneity
Last update: 12 September, 2023

The 20th century has left a very interesting artistic legacy, including interior design productions. In this regard, for example, the Wassily chair in black stands out, providing seriousness and contemporaneity to decorate the home.

The most relevant designers in history achieved a great repercussion in the second third of this century, at which time different schools appeared looking for new formulas for decoration and much more sophisticated works to convey originality.

Innovation has always been the elemental claim of artists. Whether in painting, sculpture, or architecture, they’ve attempted to make different aesthetic procedures with which to pursue the idea of novelty and thus abandon the already well-known traditional approaches.

A chair typical of the Bauhaus

Some figure

Marcel Lajos Breuer, the producer and designer of this chair, worked as the director of cabinetmaking at this school. The name Wassily was attributed to him in reference to the painter Wassily Kandinsky. The chair is also known as Model B3.

The principles that are worked on in this school aim to direct the aesthetics of interiors toward new artistic concepts. In other words, the objective is to achieve a much more dynamic element that reflects the contemporaneity reached by the avant-garde of the 20th century.

In the same way that works like this are made, other teachers and artists at the school are also working in a similar vein. In addition, it should be noted that, in parallel, some students learn the bases to work on creativity in the future.

The Bauhaus School was decisive in the world of interior design.

The Wassily chair at home: Function and aesthetics

The contemporary appearance of this chair clearly contributes to the development of a modern and up-to-date principle. In addition, it can blend very well with other resources, as long as they’re in a similar vein. Let’s see, therefore, some aspects to highlight:

  • This chair is made up of different parts that together form a harmonious and essential component. The leather is taut both on the armrests and on the back. This creates a really interesting piece of functionality.
  • The straight lines dominate completely, and the curves are consolidated in a basic way. In turn, the back and the seat are arranged obliquely in order to provide a more ergonomic character. In other words, they adapt very well to the shape of the body to achieve greater comfort.
  • Another of its qualities is the width. At no time do we perceive that there’s a closed framework; quite the contrary. The structure is open, dynamic, and has different planes. There are no complications or decorative details. Simplicity is sought in combination with practicality.
  • The color black conveys seriousness and force. There’s no doubt that it can fit very well wherever it’s located, without creating difficulties in its relationship with the rest of the elements that are present in the space.

What styles does it fit in?

Some figure
Image of another Bauhaus chair designed in 1928: Wikipedia

If we have to highlight some styles in which the Wassily chair fits, we can point out some styles where it would play a leading role. One of them is the industrial style: Each piece of furniture acquires a fundamental meaning and would play, in this case, a very important role in the whole.

In the event that you prefer a basic and stable relationship, in the minimalist style, the Wassily chair in black can be accommodated without any kind of aesthetic confrontation. In other words, it can link very well with the furniture around it.

We’ve indicated two styles, but we could also list other contemporary trends, such as urban style, avant-garde, mid-century, casual, transitional, etc.

The Wassily chair in black: A chair that’s versatile.

Suitable for offices and public spaces

As pointed out before, seriousness is another of its qualities. Therefore, it can be common to find this type of chair in offices, waiting rooms, meeting rooms, hotel halls, etc. It’s still a very simple component that can transmit a great deal.

In short, it’s one of the most unique decorative resources of the 20th century, while at the same time acting as an artistic piece. In addition, we must highlight the good presence that it offers, without clashing or generating any type of aesthetic conflict.

Main image: Wikipedia


All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


  • Pesudo Chiva, María Carmen: Formas curvas alabeadas, Cultivalibros, 2009.
  • Serraino, Pierluigi: Eero Saarinen: 1910-1961; un expresionista estructural, Taschen, 2005.