Henri van de Velde

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Henri van de Velde

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Henri van de Velde , 1863-1957, Belgian designer and architect. Beginning as a painter, critic, and crafts designer in Belgium and in France, he received his first great acclaim for the interiors that he exhibited at Dresden in 1897. Van de Velde played a leading role in the development of Jugendstil, the German equivalent of art nouveau . His designs for furniture and tableware are of especially high quality. With ideas deriving in part from Ruskin and William Morris, he taught at his own school, the Weimar School of Arts and Crafts. Van de Velde's architectural activity was considerable. His best work is found in his own house near Brussels (1895) and in the studio building for his school at Weimar (1906), but his architecture never had the quality, importance, or influence of his crafts and his numerous writings. His first book was Die Renaissance im modernen Kunstgewerbe (1901).

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Velde, Henry van de

The Oxford Dictionary of Art | 2004 | | © The Oxford Dictionary of Art 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Velde, Henry van de (b Antwerp, 3 Apr. 1863; d Zurich, 25 Oct. 1957). Belgian architect, designer, painter, writer, and teacher, one of the chief creators and exponents of the Art Nouveau style and a key figure in the development of art teaching in the 20th century. He began his career as a painter and in 1888 adopted Neo-Impressionism. However, he gave up painting soon afterwards—the result of acute self-questioning that followed a nervous collapse in 1889 brought on by the death of his mother—and thereafter devoted himself to architecture and applied art. In 1896 he carried out decorations for Siegfried Bing's Paris shop Maison de l'Art Nouveau, from which the name of the new style derived. From 1902 to 1917 he lived in Weimar, where he was appointed head of the new Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Arts and Crafts). The teaching here was novel in that pupils—instead of studying the art of the past—were encouraged to think in terms of the needs of the modern world. Van de Velde's successor in Weimar was Walter Gropius, who developed these ideas at the Bauhaus. In 1917 he moved to Switzerland, then in 1920 the Netherlands, where he began to work for the collector and patron Hélène Kröller-Müller (1869–1939), for whom he later designed the celebrated museum of modern art named after her at Otterlo (1937–54). This shows the much severer style of his later years. In 1926 he returned to Belgium, and taught in Brussels for twenty years before retiring to Switzerland in 1947. He wrote several books on his ideas and also an autobiography, Geschichte meines Lebens, posthumously published in 1962.

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IAN CHILVERS. "Velde, Henry van de." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 14 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

IAN CHILVERS. "Velde, Henry van de." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (November 14, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-VeldeHenryvande.html

IAN CHILVERS. "Velde, Henry van de." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Retrieved November 14, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-VeldeHenryvande.html

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Velde, Henry van de

A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art | 1999 | | © A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art 1999, originally published by Oxford University Press 1999. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Velde, Henry van de (1863–1957). Belgian architect, designer, painter, writer, and teacher, one of the chief creators and exponents of the Art Nouveau style and a key figure in the development of art teaching in the 20th century. He was born in Antwerp, where he studied painting at the Academy, 1880–3. In 1888 he adopted the Neo-Impressionist style, but he gave up painting soon afterwards. This was the result of acute self-questioning that followed a nervous collapse in 1889 brought on by the death of his mother. He decided that ‘what is of use to only one person is close to being of use to no one, and in the near future only what is of use to all will be considered useful', and thereafter he devoted himself to architecture and applied art. In 1895 he created a house for himself (‘Bloemenwerf') in the Brussels suburb of Uccle, designing everything from the architecture to the kitchen utensils, and in 1896 he carried out decorations for Siegfried Bing's Paris shop Maison de l'Art Nouveau, from which the name of the new style derived. Van de Velde's work for Bing featured the sinuous curves typical of Art Nouveau, but he believed in a rational use of form, unencumbered by tradition, and thought that ornament should grow naturally from the structure rather than being mere superficial decoration. In 1897 some of his work was exhibited in Dresden to great acclaim, leading to several commissions in Germany, where he moved in 1900. His German patrons included Karl Ernst Osthaus (see SONDERBUND), for whom he remodelled the Folkwang Museum at Hagen (1900–2) and who wrote a biography of van de Velde (1920). From 1902 to 1917 he lived in Weimar, where he was appointed head of the new Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Arts and Crafts). The teaching here was novel in that pupils—instead of studying the art of the past—were encouraged to think in terms of the needs of the modern world. Van de Velde's successor in Weimar was Walter Gropius, who developed his ideas at the Bauhaus.

In 1917 van de Velde moved to Switzerland, then in 1920 the Netherlands, where he began to work for Hélène Kröller-Müller, for whom he later designed the celebrated museum at Otterlo (1937–54). This shows the much severer style of his later years. In 1926 he returned to Belgium, and the following year he became head of the newly-founded Institut Supérieur des Arts Décoratifs in Brussels. He taught there for the next 20 years and in this period received many state commissions, including the Belgian pavilions at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1937 and the New York World's Fair in 1939. In 1947 he retired to Switzerland. In addition to his highly varied artistic output, he wrote several books on his ideas and also an autobiography, Geschichte meines Lebens, posthumously published in 1962.

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IAN CHILVERS. "Velde, Henry van de." A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 14 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

IAN CHILVERS. "Velde, Henry van de." A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (November 14, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O5-VeldeHenryvande.html

IAN CHILVERS. "Velde, Henry van de." A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art. 1999. Retrieved November 14, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O5-VeldeHenryvande.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article Bauhaus origins.(Book Review)
Magazine article from: The Architectural Review; 1/1/2006
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Magazine article from: Contemporary Review; 8/1/2002

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Golf: The Open - Lawrie takes the Open home Carnoustie climax: Van De Velde's nightmare on the 18th lets in Scottis h outsider to claim dramatic play-off win
Newspaper article from: The Independent - London; 7/19/1999; ; 700+ words ; ...1997 champion, and Jean Van de Velde, of France. The winner...the fourth round, Van de Velde had looked certain to become...Massy in 1907. Van de Velde is currently ranked No...between Sacha Distel and Henri Leconte, but when his...
The anti-romantics: Robert Thorne reviews a centenary exhibition in Munich that charts the Deutsche Werkbund's story from its pioneering years of Modernism until the present day.('100 Jahre Deutscher Werkbund')(Critical essay)
Magazine article from: Apollo; 7/1/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...the remarkable pavilions by Bruno Taut, Gropius and Henri van de Velde have to be seen in the context of a wide range of buildings...This was spearheaded by young architects, notably Mies van der Rohe, who became vice-president in 1926, and also...
Art Nouveau silver. (Market: Antiques)
Magazine article from: Interior Design; 9/1/1992; ; 700+ words ; ...Nouveau, that Samuel Bing opened in Paris in 1895 with furniture and accessories by a group of artists including Henri van de Velde, Georges de Feure and the American designer and manufacturer Louis Comfort Tiffany. In Austria the movement was...
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Magazine article from: The Architectural Review; 1/1/2006; ; 700+ words ; ...shadowy figures on the edge of Modernism are illuminated: architect-teachers like August Endell, Theodor Fischer, Henri van de Velde, Heinrich Tessenow, Richard Riemerschmid and Hans Poelzig. The central hero, if there is one, is Hermann Muthesius...
BUILT TO IMPRESS
Newspaper article from: The Scotsman; 5/16/2003; ; 691 words ; ...Nouveau was as spectacular as it was prolific. Alongside Horta, acolytes such as Paul Hankar, Paul Cauchie and Henri van de Velde undertook major projects, with the result that some 30,000 houses were built in this style. Of those that remain...
ART NOTES.(Arts and Literature)
Newspaper article from: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR); 1/22/2009; 700+ words ; ...unique knowledge as a collector and designer. She will offer insight into the pieces designed by architects such as Henri Van de Velde, Charles Ashbee, Josef Hoffmann and Ettore Sottsass. Grant Walsh graduated in 1960 from the UO's School of Architecture...
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Magazine article from: World and I; 10/1/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...achieve a kind of catholicity, or general equality of status, among all the arts. The Belgian Art Nouveau designer Henri Van de Velde (1863--1957) noted that "terminology, like 'low art,' 'art of second rank,' 'art industry,' 'art...
Placid house: Oliver Bennett enjoys ambling round Red House in Kent--19th century designer William Morris's monument to the medieval era.(The Week Ahead)
Magazine article from: Design Week; 8/21/2003; ; 700+ words ; ...designer/propagandist of the 19th century. From his work you can draw a line through Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Henri van de Velde, through Viennese Modernists like Adolf Loos and Otto Wagner, right into the heart of rigorous 20th century Modernism...
Dance's Moving Pictures
Newspaper article from: The Washington Post; 5/7/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...de force. Filmmaker Thierry De Mey shot the piece in the RITO school in Leuven, Belgium, and against architect Henri Van de Velde's modernist backdrop, the work attains a breathtaking geometry of space and bodies. Emerson selected a few humorous...
Going out
Newspaper article from: The Scotsman; 7/2/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...and influenced Gauguin's younger contemporaries, including Emile Bernard, Paul Serusier, Maurice Denis and Henri van de Velde. See Centrefold, page 20. RC Tel: 0131-225 6671 The Wiggles, Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow, 3 July IN AMERICA...
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Henri van de Velde. Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)

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