Henry van de Velde

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Henry van de Velde
Personal information
Name Henry van de Velde
Nationality Belgian,
Birth date April 3, 1863(1863-04-03)
Birth place Antwerp, Belgium
Date of death October 25, 1957 (aged 94)
Place of death Oberägeri, Switzerland
Work
Significant buildings House "Bloemenwerf" in Ukkel (1895)

Kunstgewerbeschule Weimar (1907) Werkbund Theatre in Köln (1914) Universit Library with "Boekentoren" in Ghent (1933)

Henry Van de Velde (3 April 1863 – 25 October 1957[1][2]) was a Belgian painter, architect and interior designer. Together with Victor Horta he can be considered one of the main founders and representatives of Art Nouveau in Belgium. Van de Velde spent the most important part of his career in Germany and had a decisive influence on German architecture and design at the beginning of the 20th-century.

Van de Velde studied painting in Antwerp, under Charles Verlat and in Paris under Carolus-Duran. As a young painter he was thoroughly influenced by Paul Signac and Georges Seurat and soon adopted a neo-impressionist style. In 1889 he became a member of the Brussels-based artist group "Les XX". After Vincent Van Gogh exhibited some work on the yearly exhibition of Les XX van de Velde became one of the first artists to be influenced by the Dutch painter. During this periode he developed a lasting friendship with the painter Théo van Rysselberghe and the sculptor Constantin Meunier.

Chemnitz, Germany: Villa Esche
Chemnitz, Germany: Villa Esche

In 1892 he abandoned painting and devoted himself to decoration and interior design. His own house, Bloemenwerf in Uccle, was his first attempt at architecture, and was inspired by the English arts and crafts movement. He also designed interiors and furniture for the influential art gallery "L'Art Nouveau" of Samuel Bing in Paris in 1895. This gave the movement its first designation as Art Nouveau.

Van de Velde's design work received good exposure in Germany, through periodicals like Innen-Dekoration, and subsequently he received commissions for interior designs in Berlin. Around the turn of the century, he also designed Villa Leuring in the Netherlands, and Villa Esche in Chemnitz, two works that show his Art Nouveau style in architecture. He also designed the interior of the Folkwang Museum in Hagen (today the building houses the Karl Ernst Osthaus-Museum. In 1905 he was called upon by the Grand Duke of Weimar to establish the Grand-Ducal School of Arts and Crafts in Weimar, the predecessor of the Bauhausschool which would replace the School of Arts and Crafts after World War I, under the new director Walter Gropius.

Chair designed for house "Bloemenwerf", 1895
Chair designed for house "Bloemenwerf", 1895

Van de Velde, although a Belgian, would play an important role in the German Werkbund, the association founded to help improve and promote German design by establishing close relations between industry and designers. He would oppose Hermann Muthesius at the Werkbund meeting of 1914 and their debate would mark the history of Modern Architecture. Van de Velde called for the upholding of the individuality of artists while Hermann Muthesius called for standardization as a key to development.

During World War I, van de Velde left Weimar back to Belgium. He was later instrumental in founding another school, La Cambre in Brussels. He continued his practice in architecture and design, which had significantly demarcated itself from the Art Nouveau phase, which lost all its popularity by 1910. In this period he mentored the great Belgian architect Victor Bourgeois.

During World War I, he lived in Switzerland and in the Netherlands where he designed the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo. From 1926 to 1936, Van de Velde was professor at Ghent University, where he became the architect of the university library (the so-called Boekentoren or Book Tower).

[edit] Works

a selection:

Villa Esche, Chemnitz

Villa Esche, Chemnitz

Villa Esche, Chemnitz, Garage

Villa Hohenhof in Hagen

Villa Hohenhof in Hagen

Villa Schulenburg in Gera

"Boekentoren" of Ghent University

Staircase of the Sanatorium of Trzebiechów

Staircase of the Sanatorium of Trzebiechów

Extension to the Nietzsche Archiv in Weimar

Monument for Frédéric de Mérode in Brussels

Dinner-service in Meissen porcelain and silver cutlery designed by Van de Velde

Cover design of the 1908 Insel edition of Friedrich Nietzsche's Ecce Homo

Logo of the NMBS/SNCB

[edit] External links

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[edit] References

  1. ^ "Velde, Henry van de". Encyclopædia Britannica. (2007). Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved on 2007-09-25. 
  2. ^ the 15 October 1957 is given as well