Mid-Century Oak Lounge Chair for Souplina, France circa 1950s

Mid-Century Modern, a design movement devoted to timeless functionalism established itself in the post-war period with furniture that appealed to the senses. Furniture design was guided by the famous maxim: “Form follows function.” For midcentury designers, materials were used for their own distinct; often a piece of furniture would combine only two materials or colours – creating tension and harmony without fuss or superfluous ornament and these fully upholstered lounge chairs are perfect examples of this sentiment. The duality of two materials and colour scheme create an elegant, self-supporting, and enticingly functional design. The combination of solid wood and high-quality upholstery is traditional in mid-century design for a good reason. The two materials complement each other by highlighting their unique material qualities. This pair falls into the category of the so-called biomorphic midcentury: furniture that relished in organic, curved, smooth surfaces, design that was moulded into the shapes of natural occurrences, and which was a lively contrast to the more austere machine aesthetic...

The Italian furniture and interior designer, Federico Munari is known as a master of elegantly organic forms. His seating models - including these chairs - were created to highlight ...