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"Henry van de Velde painted brilliantly, designed furniture and silver with devilish whiplash curves, decorated stunningly modern rooms, and created some of Europe's most compelling buildings\u2014including the spectacular 1938 Kr\u00F6ller-M\u00FCller Museum in the Netherlands. These projects and dozens more are analyzed in Henry van de Velde: Passion, Function, Beauty 1863\u20131957 (Lannoo, $62), a gorgeous book that is dedicated to the Belgian Art Nouveau master and which grew out of recent exhibitions at the Neues Museum Weimar in Germany and the Cinquantenaire Museum in Brussels.\n\nPinterestFacebookThe Bloemenwerf chairs (shown with and without arms) were created for a home Van de Velde built for himself and his family on the outskirts of Brussels in 1895. He oversaw every aspect of the project\u2014from drawing up architectural plans to designing each item of furniture. Bloemenwerf house, as he named it, became a showpiece for the artist's beautiful but practical aesthetic. Photo courtesy of Lannoo\n\nPacked with archival and contemporary photographs, the book serves as an essential resource for scholars and fans of modern design while also offering a personal portrait of one of the era's most proficient designers, who began his career as a member of the Brussels avant-garde artists group Les Vingt. Despite his early acclaim, Van de Velde faced many financial and artistic challenges during his lifetime. The authors' detailed description of how, where, and from whom he received commissions provides a window into the practical difficulties and fierce competition designers faced at the end of 19th and beginning of the 20th century.\n\nThroughout his career Van de Velde accepted a wide range of commissions, from decorating the interiors of train cars to designing the Brussels office for King Leopold III of Belgium. In showing how the artist energetically embraced each project, the book conveys the passions of a man who once said, \"Those who lead their lives without the constant presence of a decor do not lead them to the full.\"\n\nPinterestFacebookVan de Velde celebrated the transition from gas to electricity by creating lighting that elegantly showcased the new technology, such as this brass-copper-and-glass chandelier made in 1898. Photo: Martin Adam"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/henry-van-de-velde-book-lannoo>