The architect and designer Marcel Breuer was one the 20th century’s most influential and innovative adherents of modernism. A member of the Bauhaus faculty, Breuer — like such colleagues as the architects Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and the artists and art theoreticians László Moholy-Nagy and Josef Albers — left Europe in the 1930s to champion the new design philosophy and its practice in the United States.
Born in Hungary, Breuer became a Bauhaus student in 1920 and quickly impressed Gropius, the German school’s founder, with his aptitude for furniture design. His early work was influenced by the minimalist Dutch design movement De Stijl — in particular the work of architect Gerrit Rietveld.
In 1925, while he was head of the Bauhaus furniture workshop, Breuer realized his signature innovation: the use of lightweight tubular-steel frames for chairs, tables and sofas — a technique soon adopted by Mies and others. Breuer’s attention gradually shifted from design to architecture, and, at the urging of Gropius, he joined his mentor in 1937 on the faculty of Harvard and in an architectural practice.
In the 1940s, Breuer opened his own architectural office, and there his style evolved from geometric, glass-walled structures toward a kind of hybrid architecture — seen in numerous Breuer houses in New England — that pairs bases of local fieldstone with sleek, wood-framed modernist upper floors. In his later, larger commissions, Breuer worked chiefly with reinforced concrete and stone, as seen in his best-known design, the brutalist inverted ziggurat built in New York in 1966 as the home of the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Breuer’s most famous furniture pieces are those made of tubular steel, which include the Wassily chair — named after Wassily Kandinsky and recognizable for its leather-strap seating supports — and the caned Cesca chair.
Breuer also made several notable designs in molded plywood, including a chaise and nesting table for the British firm Isokon and a student furniture suite commissioned in 1938 for a dormitory at Bryn Mawr College. Whether in metal or wood, Breuer’s design objects are elegant and adaptable examples of classic modernist design — useful and appropriate in any environment.
Find vintage Marcel Breuer seating, storage cabinets and lighting on 1stDibs.
Cesca Bar Stools
By Marcel Breuer
Located in Atlanta, GA
Set of three Cesca Model bar stools, in the manner of Marcel Breuer, probably Italian, circa 1980s. The seats are currently being upholstered and can be completed in your fabric. Sim...
Metal
$2,230 / set
H 31.5 in W 18.12 in D 21.26 in
Mid-Century Modern Italian Set of Chrome and Black Cesca Chair by Marcel Breuer
By Marcel Breuer
Located in Prato, IT
Mid-Century Modern Italian set of 3 chrome cantilever Cesca chair with black lacquered wood profiles by Marcel Breuer. The chairs are in really good ...
Chrome
$1,720Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 41.75 in W 23 in D 18 in
Italian Marcel Breuer Cesca Bar Stools - PAIR
By Marcel Breuer
Located in Madison, WI
Very nice looking and strong Pair of very sturdy Marcel Breuer Italian Chrome and Birds eye woven cane seats and backs. These also Feature the built-in footrests. Very nice looking...
Chrome
$1,467 / set
H 32.68 in W 18.51 in D 19.69 in
All Black Dining Chairs Style B32 by Marcel Breuer Set of 4
By Marcel Breuer
Located in bruxelles, BE
Set of 4 chairs in metal, wood and rattan. Height of seat: 47 cm. Wear due to time and age of the chairs. FOR SHIPPING, REQUEST US FOR RECEIVE THE BEST PRICE
Metal
$3,991 / set
H 31.5 in W 22.45 in D 22.05 in
Set of 4 "Cesca" Cantilever Chairs by Marcel Breuer, Italy, 1980s
By Marcel Breuer
Located in Firenze, IT
An exceptional and globally recognized set of four "Cesca" cantilever chairs (originally designated as model B32), designed by Bauhaus master Marcel Breuer in 1928. This set stands a...
Steel
$2,900 / set
H 40.5 in W 22 in D 23 in
Set of 3 Mid Century Post Modern Black Metal Frame Bar Stools by Cal Style
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A beautifully designed Post-Modern set of three bar stools produced by Cal-Style in the early 1990's. These feature black powder coat frames with white seat cushions. Fabric is soile...
Metal
$2,817 / set
H 34.26 in W 15.36 in D 18.12 in
Set of 3 Black Barstools by Philippe Starck for Kartell, 1980s, Italy
By Philippe Starck, Kartell
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Set of three black bar stools by Philippe Starck for Kartell, Italy, 1980s. This striking vintage set features slender black frames with gently curved backrests and sculptural seats ...
Steel
$4,203 / set
H 31.11 in W 22.45 in D 23.63 in
Set of Vintage B64 Cantilever Chairs by Marcel BREUER for THONET, 1979/ 1980
By Marcel Breuer
Located in Berlin, Berlin
Four B64 chairs with chromed tubular steel cantilever frame, dark brown beech wood armrests, and hand-woven 'Vienna-type' caned seat and backrest, produced in 1979 and 1980. Two of t...
Metal
$4,500 / set
H 42 in W 18.1 in D 23.6 in
Four (4) NIB Cesca Bar Stools Marcel Breuer Knoll Chromed Steel Upholstery
By Marcel Breuer, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
At the Bauhaus, Marcel Breuer married traditional craftsmanship with industrial methods and materials to help make tubular steel furniture an international sensation and a modern institution. Marcel Breuer was also the designer of the iconic Wassily chair and the Breuer Building, which now houses the Whitney Museum of American Art in the heart of NYC. This brand new set is in the super elegant "Caviar Hourglass" upholstery, and have never been used. These chairs are new in box, and have been priced near the first-party Knoll price. However, we can offer discounted and faster shipping, and are willing to reasonably negotiate. At this time, we have a total of 8 stools...
Steel, Chrome
$2,400
H 39.5 in W 16 in D 18 in
Four Willy Rizzo Style Black Leather Tubular Cidue Barstools Mid-Century Modern
By Cidue, Willy Rizzo
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Three stitched leather, slim profile side, stools or barstools in the style of legendary designer Willy Rizzo and manufactured by Cidue. Italian made is the late 1970s or early 1980s...
Steel
Set of Jamaica Swivel Bar Stools by Pepe Cortès for BD Barcelona, 1990s
Located in Leuven, Vlaams Gewest
Set of 4 'Jamaica' bar stools designed by Pepe Cortes for BD Barcelona in the 1990s. Beechwood seats and elegant chrome bases. Very good condition 1990s - Spain Very good condit...
Chrome
Vnitage brutalist bar stools, 1960s - set of 4
Located in Leuven, Vlaams Gewest
Beautiful hand made mid century tripod bar made in spain. Good original condition. 1960s - Spain Dimensions: Height: 85cm Width: 55cm Depth: 45cm Seat height: 82cm Ref.: 2508040...
Oak
Vintage brutalist bar stools, 1960s- set of 3
Located in Leuven, Vlaams Gewest
Attractive hand crafted brutalist bar stools. The stools are very sturdy and made from thick oak. Good original condition. 1960s - Belgium Dimensions: Height: 105cm Width: 45cm D...
Oak
Vintage bar stools by Allmilmö, 1980s, Set of 3
Located in Leuven, Vlaams Gewest
Set of 3 post modern bar stools by Allmilmö. White metal frames with cool bentwood seats. 1980s - Germany In good condition Dimensions: Height 100cm Width: 50cm Depth: 45cm Seat ...
Metal
Set of 6 Rudolf Glatzel armchairs for Knoll Art Collection, 1980s
By Rudolf Bernd Glatzel
Located in Leuven, Vlaams Gewest
Set of 6 cantilevered leather and steel frame armchairs designed by Rudolf Glatzel for Knoll Art Collection. Beautiful timeless design steel frames with comfy black leather padding....
Chrome
Set of 4 vintage brutalist bar stools, 1960s
Located in Leuven, Vlaams Gewest
Mid century brutalist bar stools with backrests, thick and comfy olive green fabric seats and a very very sturdy frame. Cool chuncky design with a steel ring footrest. 1960s - Belg...
Fabric, Oak
