The creator of the ubiquitous Knoll "Tulip" chairs and tables, Eero Saarinen (1910-1961) was one of the 20th century's most prominent space shapers, merging dynamic forms with a modernist sensibility across architecture and design.
Among Saarinen's greatest accomplishments are Washington D.C.'s Dulles International Airport, the very sculptural and fluid TWA terminal at JFK Airport in New York, and the 630 ft. (192 m) high Gateway Arch of St. Louis, Missouri, each of them defining structures of postwar America. Catenary curves were present in many of his structural designs. During his long association with Knoll, Saarinen's other famous furniture pieces included the "Grasshopper" lounge chair and the "Womb" settee. Married to Aline Bernstein Saarinen, a well-known critic of art and architecture, Saarinen also collaborated with Charles Eames, with whom he designed his first prize-winning chair.
With rich illustration tracing his life and career, this introduction follows Saarinen from his studies across his training all the way to his most prestigious projects, and explores how each of his designs brought a new dimension to the modernist landscape.
About the series
Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Architecture series features:
an introduction to the life and work of the architect
the major works in chronological order
information about the clients, architectural preconditions as well as construction problems and resolutions
a list of all the selected works and a map indicating the locations of the best and most famous buildings
approximately 120 illustrations (photographs, sketches, drafts, and plans)
About the Author: The authors:
Frank Zollner wrote his doctoral theses on artistic and architectural theory (1987) and Leonardo Da Vinci (1996). He has written numerous publications on the art and artistic theory of the Renaissance and on Paul Klee. Since 1996 he has been Professor of Renaissance and Modern Art at Leipzig University. For TASCHEN he has authored the XL monographs on Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
Christof Thoenes studied art history in Berlin and Pavia, before completing his doctorate in Berlin. Thoenes lives in Rome, where for many years he has worked for the Bibliotheca Hertziana (Max-Planck-Institute), and is honorary professor in Hamburg. He has contributed to numerous publications on Italian art, particularly on architecture and architectural theory of the 15th to 18th centuries.
Thomas Popper wrote his doctoral theses on 15th century Italian Renaissance sculpture. He has been a fellow of the Bibliotheca Hertziana (Rome) and has worked as a curator for contemporary art at the Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landesmuseum. He taught at the Northern Institute of Technology and at the University of Hamburg. Since 2005 he has been a lecturer of art history at Leipzig University. Popper is the author of a range of publications on Italian Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque art as well as on 19th and 20th century German painting and sculpture.
