Set of 4 Mart Stam Cantilever S34 for Thonet

Weissenhof in Stuttgart (1927), now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was here that Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the project's designer, first presented to the public the cantilever chair models S33 and S34, created by Mart Stam. The idea of this two-legged cantilever chair ("Why four legs when two are enough?"), with a structure made solely from a bent steel tube, was revolutionary. This piece of furniture symbolises the innovative spirit of the Bauhaus – simplicity and functionality – like few other creations. Furthermore, he taught urban planning as a visiting professor at the Bauhaus in Dessau and was co-editor of the avant-garde magazine ABC. In 1939, Stam and his wife emigrated to the Soviet Union. As members of the "May Brigade," they participated in the design of several Soviet model cities. Upon returning to the Netherlands, he accepted a teaching position at the Institute for Artistic Education in Amsterdam, where he became director. In 1948, Mart Stam settled again in a communist state. In East Germany, he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden and became, in 1950, director of the School of Applied Arts in Berlin-Weißensee (KHB). Following the formal conflict in East Germany, which effectively resulted in the abandonment of artistic freedom, Mart Stam left the country disillusioned. Back in the Netherlands, he worked as an independent architect. However, Stam was unable to regain the success of his early career. In 1966, Stam retired in Switzerland.