RIETVELD, 1924. SCHROEDER HUIS
[Quadrat-Print] Gerrit Rietveld [Author], Pieter Brattinga [Designer]

"The Quadrat-Prints appear at irregular intervals. They are published only after the most stringent requirements of intellectual and technical production have been met."

9.5 x 10 portfolio with 8 folded sheets devoted to an aesthetic exploration of the Schröder House. The laid in sheets consist of architectural renderings by Gerrit Rietveld from 1924, handwritten notes and sketches by Rietveld from 1963 and photography and graphic design by Pieter Brattinga. Not referenced in Kuper and van Zijl [GERRIT TH. RIETVELD, 1888 - 1964: THE COMPLETE WORKS. Utrecht: Centraal Museum Utrecht, 1992]. Produced the year before Rietveld's death.

"The Quadrat-Prints are a series of experiments in printing ranging over the fields of graphic design, the plastic arts, literature, architecture and music. They are edited by Pieter Brattinga and are not for sale."

Steendrukkerij De Jong & Co. published 34 Quadrat-Prints between 1955 and 1974, with Brattinga serving as general editor and individual designers given free reign with their chosen subjects in the visual arts, literature, music, architecture, typography, etc. None of these publications were for sale -- they were distributed to friends and business associates by De Jong as elaborate self-promotions.

Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (June 24, 1888 ­ June 26, 1964) was a Dutch furniture designer and architect. In 1911, Rietveld started his own furniture factory, while studying architecture. Rietveld designed the Red and Blue Chair in 1917, but changed its colours to the familiar style in 1918 after he became influenced by the 'De Stijl' movement, of which he became a member in 1919, the same year in which he became an architect. In 1924 he designed the Rietveld Schröder House for Truus Schröder-Schräder, with whom he cooperated. The house, while guided by geometric forms, is asymmetrical. The house in Utrecht is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. Rietveld broke with the 'De Stijl' movement in 1928 and switched to the Nieuwe Zakelijkheid. The same year he joined the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne. He designed the "Zig-Zag" chair in 1932 and started the design of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Never formally organized, the artists associated with De Stijl were united by shared aesthetic concerns, which they expressed in De Stijl (The Style) magazine, published by Theo Van Doesburg from 1917 to 1931. In their work, these artists were at once theoretical and practical. The articulated De Stijl concepts in highly formal paintings such as those by Mondrian and Bart van der Leck, and in the elegant but functional furnishings and architecture of J. J. P. Oud, Rietveld and others. Using only spare, elementary forms and primary colors, De Stijl artists embodied utopian ideals in utilitarian forms that achieved true universality.

Spreads from this volume can be viewed here.

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