Berlage, Hendrik Petrus (1856–1934). Amsterdam-born architect, one of the most influential in The Netherlands, who was himself influenced by the work of
Sullivan and
Wright. He went into partnership with Theodorus Sanders (1847–1927) in 1884, and opened his own office in 1889. His early work was essentially in the
Renaissance Revival style, and in the 1890s he produced several
Art Nouveau graphic designs, culminating in the Villa Henny, The Hague (1898), a full-blown Art Nouveau work of architecture with furnishings much influenced by the design philosophies of
Morris and
Pugin. Berlage's most celebrated building is the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (1897–1903), which revealed his respect for the expressive power of constructional arched brickwork. The robust detailing and his love of brickwork and clear expressive functions (such as the
kneelers from which the segmental arches in the hall spring, and the junctions between load-bearing structure and metal
trusses) made him a precursor of the
Amsterdam School, while his writings earned him the respect of the young, aspiring members of the avant-garde. Berlage, like
Behrens, designed furniture, graphics, and all manner of artefacts: he was also an important town-planner. Although he was a delegate to
CIAM in 1928, he never actually joined, and claims for him as a proto-Modernist are much exaggerated. In fact, when
Rietveld asked him to join a group (that included Le
Corbusier,
Lurçat, Hannes
Meyer, and other Modernists) to have a photograph taken at the 1929 CIAM conference, Berlage refused, saying that everything he had built up was being destroyed by the very same collection of people.
Bibliography
Berlage (1996);
Derwig & and Wert (1994);
Polano (ed.) (1988);
Reinink (1975);
Singelenberg (1972);
Singelenberg & and Bock (1975)
