Henry van de Velde – he could do anything

This year the 150th birthday of Henry van de Velde is an occasion for a variety of exhibitions and events celebrating his life and work in the city of Weimar.
Henry van de Velde was strongly influenced by the ideas of the English Arts and Crafts Movement and by Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of a “New Mankind”. He became one of foremost pioneers of modernist design, art and architecture in Germany and beyond.
Born in Belgium in 1868, Henry van de Velde came to Weimar in 1902 and established the Grand-Ducal School of Arts and Crafts, which he directed until its closure during the First World War. He also designed the school’s buildings, where in 1919 the Bauhaus was founded, just a few steps from the HOTEL FÜRSTENHOF AM BAUHAUS. These buildings now are part of the UNESCO World Heritage.
The fifteen years he spent in Weimar were arguably his most productive. He designed houses, rooms and furniture, everyday objects, jewelry and clothing. His guiding principle was that of an intimate and harmonic correspondence between the design appearance and the purpose of an object. In this he already anticipated certain ideas of the Bauhaus.
We highly recommend looking at the life and work of Henry van de Velde and his “obsession” with reforming and innovative design. The exhibitions in Weimar and other nearby cities are most enriching and worthwhile.