Henry van de Velde

Henry Van de Velde (3 April 1863 – 25 October 1957) 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.

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 British and American 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.

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).

Works

a selection:

• 1895-1896: "Bloemenwerf", Van de Velde's first private residence, in Ukkel, Belgium
• 1895: Interior decoration of Samuel Bing's art Gallert "Maison de l'art nouveau" in Paris
• 1900–1902: Interior of the Folkwang Museum in Hagen, Germany
• 1902–1903, 1911 (extension): "Villa Esche" in Chemnitz, Germany
• 1903: Extension and interior decoration of the Nietzsche Archive in Weimar, Germany
• 1906–1907: Clubhouse of the "Chemnitzer Lawn-Tennis-Club" in Chemnitz (demolished)
• 1907–1908: "Hohenhof", Mansion for Karl Ernst Osthaus in Hagen, Germany
• 1907–1908: "Haus Hohe Pappeln", Van de Velde's private residence in Weimar, Germany
• 1909–1911: "Ernst-Abbe-Denkmal", Memorial for Ernst Abbe in Jena (in collaboration with the sculptors Max Klinger and Constantin Meunier)
• 1912–1913: Palace for Graf Dürckheim in Weimar, Germany
• 1913–1914: "Werkbund-Theater", Theatre at the Deutsche Werkbund exhibition in Cologne, Germany
• 1913–1914: "Villa Schulenburg" in Gera, Germany
• 1913–1914: Wohnhaus für den Fabrikanten Dr. Theo Koerner in Chemnitz
• 1927-1928: "La Nouvelle Maison", Van de Velde's private residence in Tervuren, Belgium
• 1929–1931: Home for the elderly of the 'Minna und James Heinemann-Stiftung' in Hannover, Germany
• 1933-1938: Library of Ghent University with "Boekentoren" in Ghent, Belgium
• 1936: Logo of the NMBS/SNCB
• 1936-1942: "Technische School", School building in Leuven, Belgium
• 1937: Belgian Pavilion on the Paris World Fair of 1937

External links

• Website of the 'Villa Esche' in Chemnitz: www.villaesche.de
• Replicas of Henry van de Velde furniture on www.henry-van-de-velde.com
• Website on Henry van de Velde's 'Villa Koerner' in Chemnitz (in German): www.villa-koerner.com
• Villa "De Zeemeeuw" in Scheveningen, (in Dutch): www.witteburgpark.nl
• Van de Velde chronological biography
• Boekentoren Belvédère in 360°

References