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Henri van de Velde

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Henri van de Velde
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(born April 3, 1863, Antwerp, Belg. — died Oct. 25, 1957, Zürich, Switz.) Belgian architect, designer, and teacher. Sharing the philosophy of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement, van de Velde believed in creating beautiful everyday objects. Increasingly occupied by a philosophy of total design, in 1895 he designed Bloemenwerf, a house for his wife and himself outside of Brussels for which he also designed all the interiors and furnishings. In 1896 he designed furniture and interiors for the Paris art galleries of Samuel Bing; because of the curving, delicate nature of these designs, van de Velde is credited with bringing the Art Nouveau style to Paris. (Van de Velde himself is generally associated with the Jugendstil movement, which was the German branch of Art Nouveau design.) In Weimer in 1902 he reorganized the arts and crafts school and the academy of fine art and thus laid the foundations for the amalgamation of the two bodies into the Bauhaus in 1919. He designed his best-known structure, the curving, sinuous Werkbund Theatre in Cologne, in 1914. His later work includes the Belgian pavilions at the international exhibitions in Paris (1937) and New York (1939). He also created graphic design work, generally in the curvilinear Art Nouveau style, and he spread his ideas through lecturing and teaching.

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Art Encyclopedia: Van de Velde
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Dutch family of painters and draughtsmen of Flemish origin.

The family came from Oostwinkel, near Ghent in East Flanders, the birthplace of the seaman Willem van de Velde, who was for a time master of a transport vessel. By 1631 his son, the marine painter (1) Willem van de Velde I, had moved to Leiden, where he married Judith van Leeuwen, whom he divorced in 1662. Two of their sons became painters: (2) Willem van de Velde II, born in Leiden, and ADRIAEN VAN DE VELDE, born after the family moved to Amsterdam c. 1633-6. Willem II was a marine artist like his father; the two worked closely together and moved to England in the winter of 1672-3. By contrast, Adriaen was primarily a landscape painter, influenced by Jan Wijnants and Philips Wouwerman; he died shortly before his father and brother emigrated to England.

The following members have entries:

  • Willem [William] van de Velde I [de oude; the elder]
  • Willem [William] van de Velde II [de jonge; the younger]

See the Abbreviations for further details.


 
 

 

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Art Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Art. Copyright © 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.  Read more