DOI article:
Grzeluk, Izydor: Polskie meble. Konkurs na sypialnię
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49352#0436
422
Izydor Grzeluk
In terms of technical standards, the furniture was
executed with great scrupulousness. Preparation of
the materiał, the selection of wood, graining and
colour are of a high standard of professionalism.
The furniture intended for Karol Tichy’s bedroom
deseiwes to be recognized as the most outstanding
and innovative example of furniture design from the
beginning of the 20th century, and not only in the
Polish ‘world’. Initially Tichy was an enthusiast of
art nouveau and it was only in his furniture design
that he rejected this aesthetic bias and began his
searchings for a constructivist form and new way of
thinking in the plastic arts. In his specific pieces of
bedroom furniture the artist focussed his entire
attention on finding the simplest solution to the mutual
relationship between the object’s exterior form,
surface and linę, while not losing in the process its
functionality. The massive forms of these pieces of
furniture were enlivened through the applying of
suitable curved lines to the central parts of their wings.
A similar role in the night cupboards was played by
drumlike forms (the appropriate combining of round
and cuboidal outer forms). These simple elements and
Solutions in the works under discussion by Tichy to a
large degree most probably resulted as much from his
profound knowledge of historie furniture design as his
awareness of the most recent developments in art.
The most inventive and avant-garde form in the
entire set is represented by the armchair. Viewed from
the front, the rhythm of three vertical lines is
discernible in the legs, while three horizontal lines
are expressed through the armrests, backrest and
lower stretchers, linked with each other in such a way
as to lend the appearance of being suspended in the
air and in space. Tichy was liberating himself from
the styles and tendencies prevalent and fashionable
at that time: art nouveau, eclecticism, neo-classicism
and folk art. The armchair represents the single largest
achievement in Polish furniture design from the
dawning of the 20th century, heralding the new
tendencies in this field which were not to develop
until after the first world war: this is the beginning of
a Polish Art Deco. The evolution of Tichy’s creative
work may be investigated by observing the stylistic
changes of his furniture designs. For example, in the
shelf of 1902 the influence of traditional styles is still
clearly pronounced, both in its generał form and the
rich sculpted decoration. However, in the bedroom
furniture he was evidently most interested in the
objects’ plasticity, limited to the figures and geometrie
exterior forms (square, rectangle, circle, triangle,
arch, cylinder, hexagon and prism). The shape of
numerous elements of traditional furniture also
underwent ałteration, including the doors to the night
cabinet, replaced by a semi-open drum. Marąuetry
served to emphasize the noble simplicity of these
abstract outlines.
Unfortunately, Tichy was never to take his
searchings for new form any further. The next suitę
of his design, intended for a living room in the
,,Exhibition of Architecture and Interiors in a Garden
Setting” (Wystawa Architektury i Wnętrz w Otoczeniu
Ogrodowym) organized in Cracow in 1912 proved
less avant-garde in character. The relationship
between the specific exterior forms was softened and
harmonized, clearly relating to furniture from the start
of the 19th century. Nevertheless, the high standards
of this master, who was a precursor and creator of
the success enjoyed by Polish furniture during the
1920s, were clearly visible.
The cubist furniture or designs of artists
associated with the group „De Stijl” (1917-1928) and
„Bauhaus” (1919-1933) developed a new aesthetic
form whose beginnings may be recognised in the
work of Karol Tichy. An example might be the famous
„red-and-blue armchair” of 1918, designed by
Rietveld, a piece of furniture intended to function as
a seat, but equally, and perhaps even to a greater
degree, was intended as a showpiece. This is an abstract
composition of outer forms and surfaces. Tichy’s
armchair, which had arisen nine years earlier, reveals
an analogous form. Karol Tichy initiated a new road
in furniture design, being one of the first Polish
Professional designers active in the arts and crafts.
Translated by Peter Martyn
Izydor Grzeluk
In terms of technical standards, the furniture was
executed with great scrupulousness. Preparation of
the materiał, the selection of wood, graining and
colour are of a high standard of professionalism.
The furniture intended for Karol Tichy’s bedroom
deseiwes to be recognized as the most outstanding
and innovative example of furniture design from the
beginning of the 20th century, and not only in the
Polish ‘world’. Initially Tichy was an enthusiast of
art nouveau and it was only in his furniture design
that he rejected this aesthetic bias and began his
searchings for a constructivist form and new way of
thinking in the plastic arts. In his specific pieces of
bedroom furniture the artist focussed his entire
attention on finding the simplest solution to the mutual
relationship between the object’s exterior form,
surface and linę, while not losing in the process its
functionality. The massive forms of these pieces of
furniture were enlivened through the applying of
suitable curved lines to the central parts of their wings.
A similar role in the night cupboards was played by
drumlike forms (the appropriate combining of round
and cuboidal outer forms). These simple elements and
Solutions in the works under discussion by Tichy to a
large degree most probably resulted as much from his
profound knowledge of historie furniture design as his
awareness of the most recent developments in art.
The most inventive and avant-garde form in the
entire set is represented by the armchair. Viewed from
the front, the rhythm of three vertical lines is
discernible in the legs, while three horizontal lines
are expressed through the armrests, backrest and
lower stretchers, linked with each other in such a way
as to lend the appearance of being suspended in the
air and in space. Tichy was liberating himself from
the styles and tendencies prevalent and fashionable
at that time: art nouveau, eclecticism, neo-classicism
and folk art. The armchair represents the single largest
achievement in Polish furniture design from the
dawning of the 20th century, heralding the new
tendencies in this field which were not to develop
until after the first world war: this is the beginning of
a Polish Art Deco. The evolution of Tichy’s creative
work may be investigated by observing the stylistic
changes of his furniture designs. For example, in the
shelf of 1902 the influence of traditional styles is still
clearly pronounced, both in its generał form and the
rich sculpted decoration. However, in the bedroom
furniture he was evidently most interested in the
objects’ plasticity, limited to the figures and geometrie
exterior forms (square, rectangle, circle, triangle,
arch, cylinder, hexagon and prism). The shape of
numerous elements of traditional furniture also
underwent ałteration, including the doors to the night
cabinet, replaced by a semi-open drum. Marąuetry
served to emphasize the noble simplicity of these
abstract outlines.
Unfortunately, Tichy was never to take his
searchings for new form any further. The next suitę
of his design, intended for a living room in the
,,Exhibition of Architecture and Interiors in a Garden
Setting” (Wystawa Architektury i Wnętrz w Otoczeniu
Ogrodowym) organized in Cracow in 1912 proved
less avant-garde in character. The relationship
between the specific exterior forms was softened and
harmonized, clearly relating to furniture from the start
of the 19th century. Nevertheless, the high standards
of this master, who was a precursor and creator of
the success enjoyed by Polish furniture during the
1920s, were clearly visible.
The cubist furniture or designs of artists
associated with the group „De Stijl” (1917-1928) and
„Bauhaus” (1919-1933) developed a new aesthetic
form whose beginnings may be recognised in the
work of Karol Tichy. An example might be the famous
„red-and-blue armchair” of 1918, designed by
Rietveld, a piece of furniture intended to function as
a seat, but equally, and perhaps even to a greater
degree, was intended as a showpiece. This is an abstract
composition of outer forms and surfaces. Tichy’s
armchair, which had arisen nine years earlier, reveals
an analogous form. Karol Tichy initiated a new road
in furniture design, being one of the first Polish
Professional designers active in the arts and crafts.
Translated by Peter Martyn