Eva: A Chair With Curves That Evoke The Female Figure
Pertaining to interior design (inredning), the pervasive style called Swedish Modern was conceived in the Swedish and Scandinavian schools. Sometimes called Swedish modernism, one of its leading designers was the late Bruno Mathsson who was born in 1907. Bruno came from a family of woodworkers living in Varnamo, Sweden, and passed away in 1988.
Though Mathsson was a student of the craft tradition, he went well beyond its definitions by using shapes that reflected living creatures, from the human form to grasshoppers. He wanted his furniture (möbler) to be both practical and comfortable. His real genius, however, lay in his ability to make functional beautiful.
Though he made many kinds of furniture (möbler), he is most famous for his chairs and the imminently practical architecture of his later career. Among the chairs he designed, his most well known ones are the Pernilla, the Miranda, and the Eva chairs. Almost all of his chairs have women's names, with curves that immediately evoke the feminine figure.
His first major chair design, the 'grasshopper', was a failure when it first appeared in 1931, but later became highly sought after. The Eva was first produced in 1934, and gained a much quicker general acceptance by the public, as well as universal praise from furniture (möbler) critics. It comes in both a high and low backed version, the high back is less typical of his arm chair designs.
The Eva chair has the usual Mathsson clean lines and curves and has a webbed type of upholstery. The original chairs were probably beech but many woods were eventually used and the webbing could be made of nearly anything. Those made during wartime were made from whatever material could be scrounged, from paper products to hemp.
Classic chairs, of both modern and older styles, such as the Eva chair (which is still being mass-produced) might be expensive, but the owners believe they pay for themselves. The selection of fabric color is limitless, and the selection of wood nearly so. These chairs were made by Mathsson until he died in 1988, and they were always classic and beautiful, with touches to suit the times.
Bruno Mathsson was a Swedish man who designed furniture (möbler) that was different from typical pieces of furniture because of its curves. He impacted the interior design industry by creating furniture that was both practical and comfortable. Although he made many different kinds of furniture, he was most famous for producing chairs. One of his chairs, named the Eva, came onto the market in 1934. This particular chair was widely accepted among the public and furniture critics alike. It is still being produced today, with customizable color schemes and wood choices.
Published December 17th, 2007
Filed in Home, Recreation
