With the bentwood chair 214 and the cantilever chair S 33, two Thonet classics form part of this exceptional exhibition. Together, they represent two pivotal moments in design history and demonstrate how technical innovation has transformed furniture design and manufacturing.
In the chapter Urban Myths, visitors encounter the Thonet No. 14, now known as the 214, one of the most successful chairs ever produced. Few pieces of furniture embody the combination of craftsmanship, industrial production and timeless design as impressively as this chair.
Developed by Michael Thonet, the bentwood chair revolutionised furniture manufacturing in the nineteenth century. By bending solid wood using steam, Thonet created a new type of construction that was both lightweight and remarkably durable. Even more significant, however, was the industrial thinking behind the design: standardised components, screw connections and knock-down construction enabled efficient serial production and worldwide distribution. The exhibition text also recalls the enduring legend that a Thonet chair once survived a fall from the Eiffel Tower, a myth that symbolises its extraordinary durability. Equally legendary is the fact that 36 disassembled chairs could be packed into a single shipping crate.
More than 160 years after its creation, the 214 is regarded as an icon of democratic design: reduced to the essentials, functional and universally understood. Its presence in the exhibition demonstrates how a piece of furniture can transcend its original purpose and become a cultural symbol.
While the 214 represents the beginnings of industrial furniture production, the S 33 marks a radical step towards modernity. In the exhibition chapter Anecdotes, the story of the cantilever chair is presented as an example of how personal experience and technical experimentation can lead to groundbreaking innovation.
In 1926, the Dutch architect Mart Stam developed the idea of a chair without back legs. His aim was to create a flexible and comfortable seating solution. Using standard steel tubing and pipe fittings, he produced a prototype that fundamentally challenged the traditional four-legged chair. The result was an entirely new typology: the cantilever chair.
With the S 33, Thonet brought this visionary concept into serial production and helped establish its international success. The resilient frame made of cold-bent tubular steel gives the chair a previously unknown sense of lightness and dynamism. At the same time, the design embodies the defining ideals of Modernism: reduction, functionality and structural clarity.
To this day, the S 33 is regarded as one of the most important tubular steel furniture designs of the twentieth century. Its inclusion in the exhibition highlights the close connection between design innovation and human needs, demonstrating how a seemingly simple idea can give rise to an entirely new way of sitting.
Whether bentwood or tubular steel, whether nineteenth or twentieth century, both Thonet models demonstrate that exceptional design is always the result of innovation, craftsmanship and cultural relevance. In The Day I Saw a Handsome Chair, the 214 and the S 33 are presented not only as design classics, but also as protagonists in a broader narrative about progress, mobility and the relationship between people and objects.
The exhibition clearly illustrates why the story of the chair is also a story of modernity. It also shows that some designs never lose their relevance. The 214 and the S 33 undoubtedly belong among them.
