Rietveld, Gerrit Thomas (1888-1964)

Gerrit Rietveld was a Dutch furniture designer and architect associated with the avant-garde movement known as De Stijl (The Style). Influenced by the abstract paintings of Piet Mondrian, Rietveld’s work emphasized pure geometric form and primary colors. As the principal interpreter of the De Stijl aesthetic, Rietveld demonstrated how Mondrian’s abstract style could be translated into three-dimensional design objects and buildings. His work helped to formulate many of the principles that became integral to modernist design of the 1920s and 1930s.