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Farnsworth House

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe • Architecture, 1951
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About the artwork
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Art form: Architecture
Date of creation: 1951
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Description of the artwork «Farnsworth House»

Edith Farnsworth was a brilliantly educated renowned scientist and practicing nephrologist in Chicago. But before choosing medicine as the main business of her life and occupying the position traditionally occupied by men in those days, Edith graduated from the American Conservatory, after which she studied for three years in Italy with the composer Mario Corti, studied literature at the University of Chicago and spoke fluent Italian. in french and german. Professor Ludwig Mies van der Rohe met with a professor of medicine at a party, where she immediately offered to design a country villa for her. And Mies agreed that very evening.

Edith Farnsworth owned a land plot 100 kilometers from Chicago: a river, a forest, hundreds of meters around. And she needed a house to come only for the weekend, take a break from city noise, play the violin and translate verses of Italian poets into English. Mies worked on the project for 2 years, and the customer gave the architect complete freedom. She will regret it very much.

Mies van der Rohe moved to America 7 years ago, headed the Department of Architecture at the Institute of Technology and managed to design and build a campus on its territory. The country villa for Dr. Farnsworth was his chance to experience his own architectural innovations in a new, private, chamber format. And he will regret it very much.
Work on the project took two years, then Dr. Farnsworth waited for the inheritance to start construction, it took several more years to build the villa - it took 6 years. All this time, Mies and Farnsworth were friends and close friends, biographers suspect (but find no evidence) of a passionate affair, and documentary filmmaker Richard Press promises to soon feature film (with Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rafe Fiennes in the lead roles) about their difficult personal relationships . In any case, it is reliably known and recorded in official records that the last time these two met in court. Edith sued Ludwig for constructing an unsuitable building. Ludwig sued Edith for not paying him for his work. The court won Mies.

He built a house for Professor Farnsworth in which it was impossible to close himself from the world. All its walls were glass. It was raised above the ground on eight iron pillars to avoid damage during the spill of the river. It was as if he was floating in the air - and exposed his insecurity, and at the same time the whole personal life of the hostess, for all to see. A covered terrace adjoined the glass box and an open level below. The only place to hide was the bathroom, located in the center of the house behind wooden panels. It was a home for a brave housewife, ready for everyday exhibitionism. Even knowing that around for hundreds of meters there was only a forest and a river, not a single soul, deciding to play the violin or translate poetry without the usual reliable stone shelter was unbearable.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe wanted to build a house in which the boundary between internal and external space becomes conditional. Where you can fall asleep in the heat, safely sheltering from the wind and rain, but to see and feel the world outside the window as if you were part of it, as if nothing separates you.

A few years before his death, Dr. Edith Farnsworth sold this house to a British rich man and philanthropist and moved to an old villa in Italy with small windows and a fireplace.

Author: Anna Sidelnikova
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