4. Video's 7. Exhibitions Architectural Decorations Art Nouveau Architecture Art Nouveau Book Art Nouveau Tiles Bezielde Schoonheid Books...Ceramic Tile Panel Dutch Art Nouveau Dutch Ceramic Tiles Dutch Tile Museum museums Nieuwe Kunst Slides

Inspired Beauty – Architectural Art Nouveau Ornamentation in The Netherlands

Olga Harmsen

9 April 2024

And yet another beautiful book about Dutch Art Nouveau has been released! It seems like we are finally gaining steam here in The Netherlands. To support the introduction of this new book the National Tile Museum has organised a small exhibition. And that exhibition has just been extended until 24 February 2024.

For years, I have been (digitally) acquainted with one of the authors of the book, Jalf Flach. And for a lot longer than I can remember, Jalf has been ‘chasing’ Art Nouveau! As early as 2007, he started sharing his photos at rondom1900.nl. Years later, he also began sharing his photos through Facebook, where I got to know him in 2013. The way I see it, Jalf has an unrestrainable urge to share beauty with the world. To share light and positivity so as to make the world a better place.

Jalf first started dreaming about publishing a beautiful coffee table book in 2017. But it wouldn’t be just another book like any other book about architecture. It would be a kind of book on Dutch Art Nouveau that did not yet exist. A book that would delight you, enchant you, with ravishing photos. Photos of a kind of art that would make you dream away; a kind of art that has the capacity to ‘heal’. That dream has now come true.

The other author of the book is Wim den Hertog, an amateur photographer since he was 21 and today a professional ceramics teacher. Wim’s photography evolved into architecture photography, focussing the last couple of years on ornaments from the Art Nouveau period. As a ceramicist, Wim was fascinated by the combination of bricks with, for example, ceramic tile panels. But also the abundant presence of wrought iron, stucco, stained glass and carpentery enticed him; it was all cought on camera.

Wim also dreamed of publishing a book with the photos he amassed of Dutch Art Nouveau architecture. He invited Jalf to write the texts for the book. One thing led to another, and here we are. Their coffee table book is a fact, and a great success! Its Dutch title ‘Bezielde Schoonheid, Art Nouveau bouwdecoraties in Nederland’ means as much as ‘Beauty with a Soul, Architectural Art Nouveau Ornamentation in The Netherlands’. The purpose of the book is to “share beauty and emphasize that we have to cherish our heritage” as Jalf says in the video below.

The Book ‘Bezielde Schoonheid’ (Beauty with a Soul)

Now about the book… I am not sure what to tell you. Except that if you love Art Nouveau, your collection is not complete without this book. That it weighs almost 3 kilo and contains 288 pages. And that it covers most well known Dutch Art Nouveau cities like The Hague and Zwolle. But also many lesser known towns like Usquert, Ermelo, Druten, Barendrecht, Tholen and Venlo. Everything is neatly organised by Province, and there is a helpful address list in the back. The book also contains a (Dutch) glossary explaining the architectural jargon. The excellent Preface was written by my dear friend Sipke van de Peppel (anno1900.nl).

Exhibition ‘Art Nouveau Tiles applied to Architecture’ @ Dutch Tile Museum

Dutch Art Nouveau architecture is characterised by lots of tile panels. Big ones and small ones. Inside and out. Tiles were abundant and plentiful, they were everywhere! That is why the Dutch Tile Museum has created a modest yet beautiful exhibition to accompany the book release. Two weeks ago, we went to see the exhibition in Otterlo.

The Dutch Tile Museum has a beautiful collection of tiles and tile panels from the Art Nouveau period, from buildings that have unfortunately been demolished. The original context and the connection with other forms of applied art have been lost though. But in combination with Wim’s photographs of Art Nouveau architecture, that connection with other forms of applied art has been made visible again.

The exhibition is divided into a number of themes such as tiled walls in the home and around the fireplace. Also a striking trend were tile panels with highly stylized, elegant flowers and colorful birds, or with women as personifications of professions, senses or seasons. The third theme is the so-called Gesamtkunstwerk, in which tiles were combined with decorative ironwork, plastered wall surfaces, stained glass windows and other decorative techniques. A nice example of such a Gesamtkunstwerk is the work of one architect highlighted at the exhibition, G.B. Broekema (1866-1946) from Kampen.

Art Nouveau pand in Kampen Hoek oudestraat-gasthuisstraat

Foto van Art Nouveau pand in Kampen Hoek oudestraat-gasthuisstraat 1898

As Sipke van de Peppel explains in the Preface of the book, Art Nouveau was enthusiastically embraced by entrepreneurs to attract attention and to show how thriving their business was. Particularly the new types of businesses, like pharmacies, insurance companies, photography- and bicycle shops, went all out when decorating their façades. Jalf and Wim have been exploring The Netherlands for ages to catch all those beautiful façades on camera. And now their book can be your guide when you decide to embark on an expedition yourself!

Tilepanel Cornflower by Jac. van den Bosch

Bezielde_Schoonheid_Tegelmuseum_Otterlo - Cornflower by Jac. van den Bosch

Now I understand that most of the 1.500 printed copies of the book have already been sold. So if you don’t have your copy yet, you’d better move fast. This book is an anthology of Dutch Art Nouveau architecture, including masterpieces as well as hidden gems. A must on your bookshelf.

Whether you must visit the exhibition depends. My husband, who hasn’t had time to thoroughly study the book, honestly enjoyed the exhibtion. He read all the display panels and said the exhibition was a nice summary. For me, having reviewed the book meticulously, the exhibition was a little less exiting (also considering that it took us an hour and a half to even get there, and the whole exhibition comprised only one room). But the exhibition is by all means a wonderful introduction to Art Nouveau for random visitors of the tile museum. I cannot imagine anyone visiting this exhibtion not to fall in love with Art Nouveau.