Archives: Persephone Post

There is an exhibition at the William Morris Gallery in east London showing the subtle connections between the work of William Morris and his circle, and the Bauhaus. ‘One of the shared characteristics is simplicity’ wrote the FT, ‘an emphasis on purpose and a respect for materials… in the context of high Victorian design his pared-down aesthetic was absolutely radical.’ If only the missing link of Karin Larsson was not always, well, missing! So this table is in the exhibition but again no word of Karin – it is meant to link with a Bauhaus chair (cf. tomorrow’s Post). Ah well, Persephone readers hold Karin in their heart at least.

And of course Karin’s rocking chair (on the Post the week before last) must have originated with William Morris – the subject of the Post this week. ‘The “Morris Chair” was a pioneering version of a reclining chair, with a reclining back, moderately high armrests, and notches to adjust the degree of slant desired. It was reportedly adapted by Morris and Co. in 1866, from a prototype owned by Ephraim Colman in rural Sussex.’

Famously, Bauhaus women were allowed into the weaving workshop but barred from other Bauhaus departments. Female students such as Gunta Stölzl, who later became head of the weaving workshop, taught themselves many technical and practical skills there. This is her 1927-8 tapestry. Forty-five years later it was used as the model for Sarah Campbell and Susan Collier’s Bauhaus fabric. So Karin Larsson started something which stretched for  75 years.

Yesterday’s chair looks far less comfortable than Karin’s rocking chair. Somehow the aesthetic has been masculinised (is that a word?) cf. the fascinating Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez which points out that THE WORLD is designed for masculinist (?) values. (We sell her book in the shop of course.) The Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer 1925-6 is something that no woman would voluntarily sit on.

The Club Chair was designed by Josef Albers in 1928, the year he was made the director of the Bauhaus furniture workshop (following the departure of Marcel Breuer) and was originally designed for Hans Ludwig and Marguerite Oeser’s house in Berlin. It was made in mahogany veneer, beech wood and maple with flat cushions. It is impossible to believe that Albers had not seen Karin’s rocking chair.

The Albers Nesting Tables 1926-7 are in one sense quite different from the Larsson aesthetic but the colours are reminiscent, as is the imagery of the nursery ie. of domestic life.

It’s slightly counter-intuitive to see the Larssons’ aesthetic as an influence on the Bauhaus (which celebrates its hundredth anniversary this year). But look, for example, at Marcel Breuer’s famous chair, designed thirty years after Karin’s rocking chair – surely it was influenced by it?

This rocking chair was designed by Karin in 1906. It was painted a strong red, probably the same as the sofa (cf. Tuesday’s Post) and has become yellow with age. Next week on the Post, Bauhaus design: obviously influenced by the Larssons but with generally more muted colours and without the domestic imagery (for example a Bauhaus rocking chair would not have cushions because they would spoil the aesthetic purity; but in real family life cushions are a necessity).

And here is Karin, painted by Carl, hard at work.

Karin Larsson had seven children (one died as a baby).. This photograph is undated but might be of the eldest Suzanne, born in 1884.