Werkverzeichnis Henry van de Veldes

The clarity and simple elegance of works by Belgian architect and designer Henry van de Velde (1863–1957) had an enormous impact on the design world of the modernist era. His extensive œuvre includes paintings and graphic works, architecture, textiles, furniture and metal works, such as jewellery, candlesticks and cutlery. He even designed quotidian ceramic and porcelain objects and worked as a theorist, writer and typographer. A research project at the Klassik Stiftung Weimar is now producing a catalogue raisonné of van de Velde’s entire oeuvre of handcrafted and interior design works.

Despite the overwhelming popularity of Henry van de Velde’s works today, the corresponding body of research literature is strikingly sparse. While his furniture, ceramics and silver works are sold at the highest prices at international auctions, there is still a general lack of knowledge regarding their background, context of origin and date of manufacture. This project aims to respond to the repeated requests of researchers, countless collectors and the art trade to rectify this deficit. At the same time, it aims to highlight the innovative dimensions and vital links connecting art and society in a European context.

Directorate/Department	Museums
Project responsibility	Dr. Annette Ludwig
Project heads	Sabine Walter, Bea Maybach
Project period	from 2001 to 2016; from 2022 to 2027

Project overview

Until recently, Henry van de Velde’s extensive oeuvre had only been studied in the areas of architecture (Ploegarts, 1987), book art (Brinks, 2007) and early furniture (Pecher, 1981). Thanks to funding provided by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung, a team of researchers at the Klassik Stiftung Weimar has been intensively studying his handcrafted works since 2001. To this end, all privately and publicly owned works by the artist are being compiled, documented and investigated. These are not attributed to van de Velde on the basis of mere stylistic criteria, but must be evidentially substantiated by invoices, historic photos etc.

The research findings collected so far have been published in three volumes edited by Thomas Föhl and Antje Neumann (2009: Works of Metal/out of stock; 2014: Textiles, 2016: Ceramics). In August 2025 the Klassik Stiftung Weimar began adding Henry van de Velde‘s complete works of furniture in successive order based on new findings and data already available in book form. In addition to detailed information on persons (clients, students etc.), institutions (companies, schools etc.), orders and exhibitions, the online catalogue raisonné features a new directory on commissions with a focus on furniture.

Publications

Following publication of the book editions, the Klassik Stiftung Weimar began creating an online catalogue raisonné in 2022 as an open-source platform on Henry van de Velde’s oeuvre. The online edition is a bilingual (German-English) standard work that exclusively contains items that are mainly documented with source material, and in some cases, information on provenance and style. Objects of questionable or discredited authorship are excluded. The data in the book editions Works in Metal (2009), Textiles (2014) and Ceramics (2016) has been incorporated into the online edition and will be updated as needed in the next years. The online edition of furniture works begins with wicker furniture and seating and relaxation furniture.

Layout vol. I, Sabine Golde & Otto Reitsperger, Leipzig

Layout vols. II-III, Atelier Papenfuss, Weimar https://www.atelierpapenfuss.de/projekte/klassik-stiftung-weimar/werkverzeichnis-henry-van-de-velde.html

Design online catalogue raisonné, Bea Maybach

Vol. 1: Works in Metal

The first volume is dedicated to van de Velde’s works in metal, consisting of jewellery, hollowware, cutlery and lighting fixtures. For the first time, his pioneering silverwork designs are indexed in their entirety, including his extraordinary cutlery designs Models I-II and 3000, as well as hollowware dating back to 1898. Many of his Weimar-period silver works designed after 1902 and crafted by Theodor Müller were distinguished at numerous exhibitions and even received the Silver Medal at the World Exposition in Ghent in 1913. Henry van de Velde generally designed pieces to correspond with their assigned purpose and integrated functional elements into their organic overall composition. This approach sparked controversial debates which Harry Graf Kessler attempted to explain in a 1904 article entitled “Van de Velde’s Silverware”, which in turn burnished the designer’s reputation even further. The volume concludes with registers of his customers, clients, companies and exhibitions, along with an overview of various signets, monograms and brand names of his works in metal.

Contains data on 4,000 works with 830 separate catalogue numbers on 814 pages.

Henry van de Velde. Interior design and Handcrafted Works. A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 1: Works in Metal. Edited by Thomas Föhl and Antje Neumann, Leipzig 2009.
(Out of stock since January 2010.)

Layout and design: Sabine Golde & Otto Reitsperger, Leipzig

Vol. 2: Textiles

The second volume in the catalogue raisonné of Henry van de Velde’s handcrafted works was published under the aegis of the DFG research project of the same name. The volume is dedicated to the artist’s textile works in the exceedingly colourful areas of fashion, fans, tapestries, decorative fabrics and carpets. This significant and painstakingly designed volume contains a wealth of new discoveries. Readers learn, for example, that his first textile works were created as early as 1892. Motivated by a wish to lead a modern, unpretentious lifestyle, van de Velde had begun designing clothes for his wife Maria early on. Even before founding the School of Arts and Crafts in Weimar, he established a carpet-knotting studio. This was where some of his brightly coloured and large-scale carpets were produced, of which some originals still exist.

For the second volume, over 1,000 works by Henry van de Velde were indexed and analysed. The result is a volume with 225 catalogue numbers and more than 1,000 photos. New photos have been made of practically all the preserved items, documented by design sketches, historical photos from the van de Velde estate, and other sources connected to the context of their origin. The 460-page bilingual volume was published by the E. A. Seemann Verlag.

Henry van de Velde. Interior design and Handcrafted Works. A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 2: Textiles. Edited by Thomas Föhl and Antje Neumann. Leipzig 2014.
ISBN: 978-3-86502-230-1
Price: 148,- euros

Winner of the German Design Award in 2017:
www.german-design-award.com/die-gewinner/galerie/detail/4842-werkverzeichnis-henry-van-de-velde-band-2-textilien.html

Vol. 3: Ceramics

Henry van de Velde began creating ceramic works in 1895. Compared with those early designs of rough tiles manufactured by Alexandre Bigot, the works van de Velde produced in Weimar after 1902 demonstrated his growing proficiency with the material. Van de Velde developed a surprisingly broad spectrum of household and luxury ceramics. Not only did he design beer mugs, bowls and candleholders, but also exquisitely formed vases and even urns. Starting in 1903, he created a 42-piece dinner service with the so-called “whiplash décor” for the Royal Saxon Porcelain Manufactory in Meissen. The majority of his ceramic designs, however, were created for ceramics producers in Westerwald and Thuringia, specifically companies in Höhr, Grenzhausen and Bürgel. Thanks to the Court Potter J. F. Schmidt and the School of Arts and Crafts, Weimar became an important centre of ceramics manufacturing as well. In collaboration with his students, Henry van de Velde produced ceramics of exquisite quality in Weimar.

Henry van de Velde. Interior design and Handcrafted Work. A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Vol. 3: Ceramics. Edited by Thomas Föhl and Antje Neumann. Leipzig 2016.
ISBN: 987-3-86502-231-8
Price: 148,- euros

Vols. 4/5: Furniture

Furniture has been the focus of research since 2022. The results will be initially published online. As is evident in the other genres, we see that van de Velde’s furniture designs clearly evolved from ornamentation to more simpler forms and concepts that anticipated the advent of the Bauhaus. He meticulously designed his furniture down to the smallest detail: brass castors, feet, knobs and even keys. The artist produced designs that were as functional and aesthetic as those for other genres, which proved challenging for companies commissioned to manufacture these exquisite items. Consequently, these volumes also highlight special characteristics of van de Velde’s furniture from a conservatorial view in terms of his choice of material and construction principles.

Around 1.200 of van de Velde’s furniture designs and construction sketches are stored in La Cambre, Brussels and the Klassik Stiftung Weimar. These provide researchers with important information about items which no longer exist. Moreover, we still have access to historical photos and the artist’s sales catalogues which document furniture which has since been lost to posterity. All of these documents are being analysed for the catalogue of furniture. Another key aspect of interest are the furniture workshops commissioned to produce these pieces, including van de Velde’s own companies in Berlin and Brussels, the Cabinet and Court Carpentry Workshop Scheidemantel in Weimar, and Herrmann Hirschwald in Berlin. These are researchable in a register of manufacturers.

Circa 1,100 furniture models will be added successively to the online catalogue starting in August 2025. A double volume print edition is planned upon completion of the research work.

www.wvz-henryvandevelde.de

Vol. 6: Interior design

The final and sixth volume of the catalogue raisonné focuses on Henry van de Velde’s interior designs. These were always carefully thought through and most were embedded in an integrated structure, and therefore, can only be fully experienced in this context. With this in mind, Volume 6 reconstructs the commissioned works and the ensembles in their original arrangements. A good example are the homes in which the van de Velde family resided, as there were no clients to limit the artist’s imagination. The task of designing entire houses, apartment or rooms presented him with the opportunity to design items in a broad array of related areas – built-in furniture, lamps, carpets, curtains, tapestries, wallpaper, windows and doors, also handles, knobs and curtain rods. This volume will also present items which were not included in the previously published volumes, e.g. radiator covers, barometers and fire screens.

Henry van de Velde. Interior design and Handcrafted Work. A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Vol. 6: Interior Design.
Publication planned following completion of the furniture edition.

View from the living room into the salon of the own residential house designed by Henry van de Velde Haus Hohe Pappeln in Weimar — Haus Hohe Pappeln, Weimar, ca. 1915, Photographer: Louis Held

Online catalogue raisonné

With the launch of the online catalogue raisonné in 2025, the Klassik Stiftung Weimar offers scholars around the world access to its research findings at no charge. The catalogue is regarded as a “work-in-progress” and will be steadily expanded and updated as needed. The digital processing of research data will enable our project staff to make corrections if necessary and expand the catalogue as new findings and information become available. Sorting and filter functions will facilitate fast and reliable access to the extensive research results.

Sponsors and partners

This project received funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung and the Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Hessen-Thüringen from 2001 to 2016. Work on the online catalogue has been generously funded by the Karin und Uwe Hollweg Stiftung and the Henry van de Velde Family Foundation since 2022. The Klassik Stiftung Weimar has been fortunate to conclude cooperation agreements with the École nationale supérieure des arts visuels de La Cambre and Fonds Henry van de Velde ASBL in Brussels, the Archives et Musée de la Littérature and the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) in Brussels, the Ghent University Library and the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich.

We cordially thank all of our partners for their continued support!

Press review (in German only)

2025	Online-Werkverzeichnis: Tagesschau
2016	Vol. 2 receives the German Design Award of 2017
2016	A complete catalogue of all works by Henry van de Velde
2016	Blog entry: Henry van de Velde's ceramic works
2015	Vol. 2 distinguished by the Stiftung Buchkunst
2014	Presentation of Vol. 2: »The clothing has to be altered to fit the interior«
2009	Announcement of Vol. 1: Works in Metal
2002	Deutsche Welle: The Catalogue Raisonné – Announcement

Your support

We need your help – share your knowledge with us!

The research project “Catalogue raisonné – Henry van de Velde” is searching for works which have not yet been catalogued for its double volume on furniture.

The project managed by the Klassik Stiftung Weimar seeks private owners who can help us complete this extraordinary catalogue of works. Only about two thirds of Henry van de Velde’s works are owned by public collections around the world. Therefore, we encourage private owners to contact our project staff with information on yet uncatalogued furniture for this compendium.

You can enter key data about the object using the form below or download and complete the object data collection form pdf and send it to us either by email or post.

You can also upload digital photos of your furniture online. If you wish, you can include photos with your PDF form as email attachments. All information and data are treated confidentially and are stored only in an internal research project database. Upon publication of the volumes, we will not disclose the owner’s name unless you expressly grant us your permission.

Only with your support can we ensure that the catalogue of furniture works is as comprehensive as possible. Thank you very much!

Catalogue Raisonné – Henry van de Velde