Henry van de Velde

Born in Antwerp in 1863, Henry van de Velde began as a painter before turning toward the applied arts, architecture, and design. He became one of the key voices of Art Nouveau, known for treating buildings, furniture, interiors, and objects as parts of one unified artistic vision.

His career took him well beyond Belgium. In Germany he designed important houses and interiors, worked in Weimar, and played a major role in the arts-and-crafts school that later fed into the story of the Bauhaus. Alongside his practical work, he also wrote and taught, helping spread new ideas about modern form and everyday design.

Van de Velde lived a long life that stretched across huge changes in European art and culture, dying in 1957. Today he is remembered not only for individual buildings and designs, but also for helping bridge the decorative energy of Art Nouveau with the cleaner lines of modernism.