VAN DE VELDE, Henri

Henry Van de Velde was born in Antwerp, April 3, 1863. He studied art from 1880 to 1882 at the Academy of Arts. In 1884-1885 years he continued his studies in Paris with Carlos Duran. Participated in the organization of artistic groups "Alz Ying Kan" and "Independent Arts". In 1888, he was admitted to the avant-garde society "Les Vingt", where he met with P. Gauguin and Y. Morris.

The first period of creative life of Van de Velde - until 1900 - the period of creative self -. He began with classes in painting, paying tribute to drag impressionism and pointillism. Going into 1889, the Belgian art group called "Group of Twenty", he actively participated in its exhibitions, to exhibit the major painters of the time - Monet, Pissarro, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec.

. Since the early 1890's, he appeared in the press as an art columnist
. In 1893 Van de Velde abandoned painting, carried away the book graphics, and then applied art, furniture design. Van de Velde created decorations and furniture for magazine editors "New Art" Bing and "Modern Home" Meier Graefe. At the Dresden art exhibition in 1897 he introduced the fabric, wallpaper, furniture.

In 1894 Van de Velde completed the first architectural order - home Sete in Divege. In 1895-1896 years he built his own mansion Blumenverf in Ekkle near Brussels, where all the details carefully traced in the "Art Nouveau", one of the creators of which he was. Villa has attracted worldwide attention. Plans and facade are traced by the master in accordance with the functional purpose, but, contrary to its own protest against the imitation of "styles of previous eras," Van de Velde has borrowed a lot of free planning an English cottage. Already in this building marked inclination Van de Velde to rationalism, not received, however, a consistent expression. His thinking was associated with German Romanticism, he was too dependent in their work on literature and painting.

Mature master Van de Velde moved to Germany in 1900. He made lengthy lecture tour of the country, promoting her artistic principles. In 1900-1902 years he performed internal layout and interior Folkwang-Museum in Hagen, creating one of the most typical works of "art nouveau".

. In 1902, Van de Velde moved to Weimar as an adviser on the Arts Grand Duke
. He became one of the organizers Verkbunda and became famous as a teacher, founded the Higher Technical School of Applied Arts. In 1906, Van de Velde built a new school building, indicating the development of the rationalist tendencies in his work. He also built and own a house in Weimar.

After leaving Germany in 1917, Van de Velde worked briefly in Switzerland and Holland, and then returned to his homeland, where he continued to practice. He organized and from 1926 to 1935 headed the Higher Institute of Decorative Arts in Brussels, developing the ideas set forth by him in Weimar.

. Highly appreciating the art of modernity, Van de Velde intuitively, as a subtle artist, felt spirit of the times
. This helped him to create his latest construction, temporary building Kroller-Muller Museum in Otterlo in the Netherlands (1937-1954). Ease functional structures: literally nothing superfluous. Special devices provide uniform ceiling light in the halls. A clear timetable for the inspection is completed at the end completely glazed building, forming the organic transition to the surrounding park with a lake, where a display of sculptures. This makes the museum Kroller-Muller model of a modern museum building. Contradictory creativity Van de Velde reflected the draft permanent museum building - a monumental, archaic, in the spirit of national-romantic style, which, fortunately, did not materialize.

. Creativity Van de Velde in the major works defiantly antitraditsionno and stressed kosmopolichno that immediately distinguishes the legacy of neo-romantic master modernist trends
. "My goal is higher than the simple search for new, we are talking about the grounds on which we build our work and want to adopt a new style," - wrote to Van de Velde.

. The fact that he connected the issue of style with the problem of synthesis of arts, was characteristic of the aesthetics of modernism in general
. The peculiarity of the position of Van de Velde was the refusal of antiindustrializma neo-romantic kind.

. Van de Velde believed that the industry can lead to the synthesis of art: "If the industry will again seek to separate fused art, then we will rejoice and thank her for that
. Driven by its transformation - nothing but a natural development of materials and means of expression of different areas of art and adaptation to the demands of modernity. "

. Modernity demanded, in his opinion, create a new style - new simvolisticheskogo language of artistic forms
. "I try to drive out all the decorative arts that he humiliates renders meaningless, and instead of the old symbols, who lost their effectiveness, I want to adopt a new and equally enduring beauty," - wrote to Van de Velde.

. Since 1947, Van de Velde settled in Switzerland Oberцєgeri, where he died on Oct. 25, 1957 at the age of 94 years
. The latest work of Van de Velde are his memoirs, in which he describes in detail his creative life and reveals its theoretical concept.