With its strikingly simple, almost futuristic, design, this armchair relates to the oeuvre of Josef Danhauser (1780-1829), the most iconic designer of the Biedermeier era. Danhauser was one of the most innovative cabinetmakers in Vienna, his designs can be construed as modernist even to this day. This radical innovation in design so typical of Vienna in the early nineteenth century sets these pieces apart from their more conventional Biedermeier contemporaries. Emphasizing functionality, Danhauser is best known for his avantgarde designs that foreshadowed both the Wiener Werkstätte and the Art Deco. He was a prolific draughtsman and his work influenced many of his contemporaries and generations to come. About 2500 of his designs, many of which are still relevant, are preserved in the Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna. A daybed of comparable design and with similar ebonized slats by Danhauser in a Viennese collection is illustrated A. Wilkie, Biedermeier, London, 1987, pl. 135.