An original Hendrik Wouda bookcase, made at Pander & Sons, 1924 (marked with metal plate at the back). The modernist design with the pointed legs and the cubist geometric shapes is well known from the famous picture in the book about the life and work of Hendrik Wouda. With some other pieces in stock we have been able to reconstruct part of the setup in the original photo. The Wouda highback chair and several dining chairs are still available as well.
The bookcase that we have listed here, is extremely rare to find. Most collectors and sellers of Wouda furniture only ever have seen it in either the book or as part of the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum collection. It's an interesting piece to own, timeless modernist design and also an investment piece as Wouda furniture is getting more desirable as well as rare.
The piece is in good condition with small signs of the time. The top shelve has the original green lacquered inside, which gives it just that bit of extra appeal. Wouda often used bold colours in his designs.
Hendrik Wouda (1885 - 1946) was a Dutch architect, interior designer and furniture designer.
According to Wouda, house interior is an inseparable part of architecture. His furniture is characterized by cubist shapes and clean lines. Wouda designed 'strict' rationalistic furniture, always with a personal signature. The shape of the legs of his chairs and tables is one of them. The use of colour is another.
The style of this bookcase is called Haagse School, a famous dutch style that manisfested itself in The Hague during the Interbellum. It was meant to represent a luxurious and modern design style. It reflected the modernist architecture style of the time. Important influences for Wouda were the design ideas of Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as Berlage (who he worked for) and the ideas of avant-garde movement ''De Stijl''. All this resulted in modern commercial designs, targeting the upper class clientele.
Wouda was head of (modern) design at the famous furniture firm H. Pander en Zn. His students included Cor Alons and J. Brunott.
Biography
After training at the Academy of Visual Arts and Technical Sciences in Rotterdam and the Academy of Visual Arts in The Hague, Wouda worked from 1910 to 1912 at the Amsterdam office of architect H.P. Berlage, but he didn't enjoy it very much: "My ears were ringing with those heavy arguments and I was caught in obligatory principles" (freely translated).
From 1912 - 1914 he worked in Munich worked for the Pössenbacher Werkstätte for architect Eduard Pfeiffer. There he became acquainted with a much more luxurious and, above all, more commercial modernism than Berlage's strict, principled design. In 1917 he started working for Pander.
Creator
Hendrik Wouda
Design Period
1924
Production Period
1920s
Country of Manufacture
Netherlands
Identifying Marks
yes (metal plate ''Pander'')
Style
Dutch Art Deco, Haagse School, The Hague School, Modernist
