Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

One of the leading lights of modernist architecture, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created a body of work—ranging from tubular steel furniture to iconic office buildings—that influenced generations of architects worldwide. From domestic spaces like the Villa Tugendhat in the Czech Republic to large, elaborate office towers like New York’s Seagram Building, he imbued his buildings with a fluid spatial harmony reflective of his oft-quoted aphorism, “less is more.” While this quote may seem to reflect an overriding interest in achieving minimalist perfection, his passion for rich materials, surfaces, and texture reveals a creative mind equally preoccupied with the minutiae of architectural space, or, as in another quote attributed to him: “God is in the details”.
Mies’s career took off in the fertile atmosphere of Berlin after the First World War, where leading artists and intellectuals were forming a community that would draw the brightest talents from across Europe. His visionary submission for the 1921 Friedrichstrasse skyscraper competition, while not a winner, was an unprecedented embrace of the new materials of steel and glass that later defined modernist architecture. As the decade progressed, he received larger and more prominent commissions, culminating in the offer to design the German pavilion for the 1929 World’s Fair in Barcelona. The small structure he built, with its flowing spaces, rich marble walls, and custom-designed furniture was an enormous success. It was around this time that Mies formed a highly fruitful partnership with the architect-designer Lilly Reich, with whom he collaborated on numerous projects. Their partnership lasted until his emigration to the United States in 1938.
Nearly as important as the legacy of his buildings is Mies’s impact as a teacher of architecture. In Germany, he served as the final director of the influential Bauhaus school until its closing under pressure from the Nazis in 1933. Shortly after his arrival in the United States, he was offered the directorship of the Armour Institute in Chicago (later renamed the Illinois Institute of Technology), where he shaped a curriculum that influenced a generation of American architects.
America afforded Mies opportunities to work on a far larger scale than he had in Germany, as evidenced by the collection of sleek, glass-skinned office and apartment towers that populate cities across North America. Though in the period after his death many architects rejected his strict formalism in favor of the more eclectic language of postmodernism, his legacy continues to inform the teaching and practice of architecture today.
Introduction by Paul Galloway, Collection Specialist, Department of Architecture and Design, 2016
- Introduction
- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( MEESS; German: [miːs]; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886 – August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd Wright, he is regarded as one of the pioneers of modernist architecture. Mies was the last director of the Bauhaus, a seminal school in modern architecture. After Nazism's rise to power, with its strong opposition to modernism (leading to the closing of the Bauhaus itself), Mies emigrated to the United States. He accepted the position to head the architecture school at the Armour Institute of Technology (later the Illinois Institute of Technology), in Chicago. Mies sought to establish his own particular architectural style that could represent modern times just as Classical and Gothic did for their own eras. He created his own twentieth-century architectural style, stated with extreme clarity and simplicity. His mature buildings made use of modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define interior spaces, as also conducted by other modernist architects in the 1920s and 1930s such as Richard Neutra. Mies strove toward an architecture with a minimal framework of structural order balanced against the implied freedom of unobstructed free-flowing open space. He called his buildings "skin and bones" architecture. He sought an objective approach that would guide the creative process of architectural design, but was always concerned with expressing the spirit of the modern era. He is often associated with his fondness for the aphorisms, "less is more" and "God is in the details".
- Wikidata
- Q41508
- Introduction
- Born 27 March 1886. Mies was one of the leading figures of Modernist architecture. He spent the early years of his career in Germany, working for various construction firms and eventually opening his own architecture studio in Berlin. In 1938 Mies moved to Chicago to established the department of architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology (then known as the Armour Institute), and eventually, he designed its new campus while designing buildings for his architecture practice. American architect, born in Germany.
- Nationalities
- German, American
- Gender
- Male
- Roles
- Artist, Architect, Designer, Teacher, Furniture Designer
- Names
- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig Mies, Liudvig Mis van der Rohe, Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, Li︠u︡dvig Mis van der Roė
- Ulan
- 500006293
Exhibitions
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Taking a Thread for a Walk
Through April 19, 2020
MoMA
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The Value of Good Design
February 10–
June 15, 2019 MoMA
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Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive
June 12–
October 1, 2017 MoMA
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How Should We Live? Propositions for the Modern Interior
October 1, 2016–
April 23, 2017 MoMA
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From the Collection: 1960–1969
March 26, 2016–
March 19, 2017 MoMA
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe has 63 exhibitionsonline.
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Brno Chair Designed 1929-1930 (this example ca. 1934)
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Brno Chair Designed 1929-1930 (this example ca. 1934)
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Exhibition House, German Building Exhibition, Berlin, Germany, Exterior perspective sketch 1930-31
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Exhibition House, German Building Exhibition, Berlin, Germany, Exterior perspective 1930-1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Lilly Reich Philip Johnson Apartment, New York, NY (Two bookcases: plans, elevations, section) 1930-1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Exhibition House, German Building Exhibition, Berlin, Germany, (Ground-floor plan with furniture layout) 1930-31
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Lilly Reich Philip Johnson Apartment, New York, NY (Floor Plan) 1930-1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Lilly Reich Philip Johnson Apartment, New York, NY (Desk and cabinet. Plans, secions and elevations) 1930-1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Exhibition House, German Building Exhibition, Berlin, Germany 1930-1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Exhibition House, German Building Exhibition, Berlin, Germany (Elevation, plan. Cupboard wall unit.) 1930–1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Lilly Reich Philip Johnson Apartment, New York, NY (Wardrobe wall, glass shelves and mirror. Elevation and section.) 1930-1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Exhibition House, German Building Exhibition, Berlin, Germany (Sections. Shaft for retractable window.) 1930–1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Exhibition House, German Building Exhibition, Berlin, Germany (Wall elevations with measurements of glass panes. Pillar sections. Wall connection section.) 1930–1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Exhibition House, German Building Exhibition, Berlin, Germany (Plan. Household utility rooms.) 1930–1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Exhibition House, German Building Exhibition, Berlin, Germany (Elevations) 1930–1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Exhibition House, German Building Exhibition, Berlin, Germany (Perspective sketch) 1930-31
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Exhibition House, German Building Exhibition, Berlin, Germany, Sections 1930-31
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Exhibition House, German Building Exhibition, Berlin, Germany, Plan. 1930-31
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair without Arms (One elevation sketch, one with figure) 1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair without Arms (similar to MR100) (Perspective sketch) 1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair without Arms (similar to MR100) (Perspective sketch) 1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair without Arms (similar to MR100) (Perspective sketch) 1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair without Arms (Elevation sketch) 1931
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Lilly Reich, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe MR Chaise Longue (model 104) 1931
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe MR Lounge Chair (model 44) Designed 1931 (this example c.1976)
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House, Project, Berlin-Wannsee (Plan, perspective and detail sketches) 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Josef Esters House, Krefeld, Germany, Plan, upper story c. 1927-30
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Josef Esters House, Krefeld, Germany, Site plan with garden. Platform elevation c. 1927-30
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House, Project, Berlin-Wannsee, Perspective 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House, Project, Berlin-Wannsee, Perspective 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House, Project, Berlin-Wannsee (Preliminary perspective sketch) 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House, Project, Berlin-Wannsee, Three preliminary perspective sketches 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House, Project, Berlin-Wannsee, Preliminary perspective sketch 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Sections; supports and jointed girders for staircase. Shop drawing.) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House, Project, Berlin-Wannsee (Preliminary perspective sketch) 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House, Project, Berlin-Wannsee, Four perspective sketches 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Floor plan) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House, Project, Berlin-Wannsee (Perspective sketches) 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Section; wall, structural detail.) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Section; wall, structural detail.) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Framing system. Joining detail sections.) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Framing system. Joining detail sections.) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Framing system. Joining detail sections.) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Framing system. Joining detail sections.) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Framing system. Joining detail sections.) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House, Project, Berlin-Wannsee (Perspective and plan sketches) 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House, Project, Berlin-Wannsee, Floor plan and two perspectives. Sketch 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House, Project, Berlin-Wannsee (Interior perspective sketch) 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Section; framing system, structural detail.) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Sections, bath) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Section; structural detail.) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany, Section, structural detail c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Sections; framing system, structural detail.) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Sections; framing system, structural detail.) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Sections; framing system, structural detail. Shop drawing.) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany, Two elevations, east and west views c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany, Two elevations c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Hermann Lange House, Krefeld, Germany (Plan. Ceiling over basement. Shop drawing.) c.1927-1930
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House Project, Berlin-Wannsee, Germany, Plan of upper floor, 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House Project, Wannsee-Berlin, Germany, Main floor plan 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House Project, Wannsee-Berlin, Germany, Perspective of street facade 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House Project, Berlin-Wannsee, Germany (Perspective of garden) 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House project, Wannsee-Berlin, Germany (Perspective of bedroom) 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House project, Wannsee-Berlin, Germany (Street and terrace elevations) 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House Project, Wannsee-Berlin, Germany, Elevation from the water 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House Project, Wannsee-Berlin, Germany, Elevation sketch, view from the water, 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House project, Wannsee-Berlin, Germany (Perspective view from dining room to living room and garden) 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House Project, Berlin-Wannsee, Germany, Interior perspective, 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Gericke House Project, Berlin-Wannsee, Germany, Interior perspectives, 1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Lounge Chair with Arms. Reclining Chair with Arms. Reclining Chair without Arms. (Elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with Rocker, with Arms. Reclining Chair with Rocker, without Arms. (Elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with Arms. (Elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with Arms. Reclining Chair without Arms. (Elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with Arms. Reclining Chair without Arms. (Elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with Arms. Reclining Chair without Arms. (Elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with Arms. Reclining Chair without Arms (Elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with Arms. Reclining Chair without Arms. (Elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Lounge Chairs with Arms (Elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Lounge Chairs with Arms (Elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Lounge Chair with Arms. Reclining Chair with Arms. 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair without Arms. Reclining Chair with Arms. (Elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair without Arms. Reclining Chair with Arms. Chair with Arms. Chair without Arms. (Elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Lounge Chair without Arms. Lounge Chair with Arms. Reclining Chair without Arms. Reclining Chair with Arms. (Elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair (Four elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair Seat Curves (Four elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with Arms (One elevation sketch) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Brno Tea Table (Plan, elevation, joining system detail section) c.1929
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair Seat Curve (Elevation sketch) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with Arms (Elevation sketch) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with Arms (Elevation sketch) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair without Arms 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair without Arms (Elevation sketch) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair without Arms (Elevation sketch) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with Arms. Lounge Chair with Arms. (Elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with Arms (Elevation sketch) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair without Arms (Elevation sketch, two detail sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair without Arms (Five elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with Arms (Elevation sketch; unidentified sketch) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with and without Arms (Five elevation sketches) 1931-1932
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Reclining Chair with Arms (Elevation sketch) 1931-1932
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