Henry van de Velde (1863–1957) is a towering figure in the history of modern design. Of prodigious range – he was equally at ease designing furniture and objects as entire buildings – he paved the way for the transition from Art Nouveau to Modernism, and proposed a model for design education that inspired the Bauhaus.

This riveting biography by renowned graphic designer and historian Richard Hollis traces van de Velde’s career from his beginnings as a painter in Antwerp to his trend-setter stature in European architecture and design at the turn of the twentieth century. Van de Velde emerges from Hollis’ richly illustrated biography as a strikingly contemporary figure, trying to balance aesthetic freedom with market forces, and believing in the social power of art in an era of growing nationalism.

Henry van de Velde (1863–1957) is a towering figure in the history of modern design. Of prodigious range – he was equally at ease designing furniture and objects as entire buildings – he paved the way for the transition from Art Nouveau to Modernism, and proposed a model for design education that inspired the Bauhaus.

This riveting biography by renowned graphic designer and historian Richard Hollis traces van de Velde’s career from his beginnings as a painter in Antwerp to his trend-setter stature in European architecture and design at the turn of the twentieth century. Van de Velde emerges from Hollis’ richly illustrated biography as a strikingly contemporary figure, trying to balance aesthetic freedom with market forces, and believing in the social power of art in an era of growing nationalism.