THE HAGUE.- The architecture and interiors of De Stijl are famous around the world. Dutch architects and designers like Gerrit Rietveld, Theo van Doesburg, Cornelis van Eesteren and J.J.P. Oud blazed the trail for generations of progressive thinkers who came after them. The historical roots of De Stijl are less well-known. This summer, the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag and Het Nieuwe Instituut (which holds the greatest architecture collection in the world) present an overview of drawings, architectural models and furniture by members of the influential art movement. Exhibited side by side for the first time ever, the works offer surprising insights: what seems simple and straightforward at first sight proves to be ambiguous and complex. And what appears brand-new may turn out not to have been.

A new universal style responding to the needs of a modern society - that is what the designers and architects of De Stijl sought to achieve. They saw their remit as extending beyond painting, sculpture and architecture to embrace the design of furniture, apparel, advertising, packaging, streets, and even entire towns or cities. They themselves explained their desire for change in the context of the First World War. But new ideas in architecture had been emerging from as early as 1880. The prior existence of steel frame buildings, concrete structures and large plate-glass windows was a major factor underlying the forward-looking, deliberately unconventional and offbeat designs of De Stijl.

The Architecture and Interiors. The desire for Style exhibition brings together drawings, architectural models, paintings, objects and furniture by artists associated with De Stijl and places them alongside design drawings and three-dimensional objects produced in previous decades. By doing so, it teases out the way in which members of De Stijl created a radically new formal idiom while at the same time exploiting existing techniques, materials and ideas in their quest to achieve a new style.

New formal idiom
By exploring the themes of colour, purity, space, transparency and technical innovation, the exhibition shows that the new style for which the De Stijl designers strove was not necessarily the fruit of brand-new inventions. Many of the underlying advances dated back to the 19th century: the reinforced concrete in the buildings of H.P. Berlage, the steel structures of Brinkman and Van der Vlugt, and the shop frontages with uninterrupted expanses of glass created by the Van Gendt architectural practice. Looked at this way, De Stijl is much more the outcome of a process begun in the 19th century than a revolution triggered by contemporary technical innovations. The designs are revolutionary, but they build on earlier achievements.

For example, advances in technology and new materials had allowed facades and structures to be opened up ever since the 19th century. Furniture designer and architect Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964) used simple timbers and plywood to create his formally innovative structures. Oud rearranged the functional features of building frontages (lintels, windows and doors) to create uncluttered architectural compositions resembling abstract paintings. And the ‘purity’ and ‘machine aesthetic’ (to use Van Doesburg’s term) of De Stijl architecture were already apparent in some earlier sanatorium and hospital interiors. This point is well-illustrated by a highly unusual exhibit on loan from Museum Boerhaave: a chair for use in gynaecological examinations, which dates from 1875 – 1885.

Maison d’Artiste
The exhibition also focuses on the Maison d’Artiste, or ‘House for an Artist’, devised by Theo van Doesburg at his kitchen table. It was his dream home. He would be able to paint there, his wife Nelly would play the piano and together they would entertain their guests. The scale model made by Van Eesteren and Van Doesburg in 1923 has since been lost but, thanks to the support of the Van Eesteren-Fluck & Lohuizen Foundation, the Gemeentemuseum has now been able to produce a reconstruction of it. The new model is based on photographs in the archives of Het Nieuwe Instituut and made of the same materials that Van Doesburg and Van Eesteren employed.

Although the Gemeentemuseum possesses a wonderful De Stijl collection of its own, it has created this exhibition in close collaboration with Het Nieuwe Instituut (the National Archive of Dutch Architecture and Urban Planning) in Rotterdam, which holds the greatest architecture collection in the world. The archives at Het Nieuwe Instituut include, for example, original design drawings and architectural models by Theo van Doesburg, J.J.P. Oud, Jan Wils, Cornelis van Eesteren, Gerrit Rietveld and Vilmos Huszár.

2017: 100 years of De Stijl
In 2017, the Netherlands is celebrating a century of futuristic Dutch design. The year marks the centenary of the launch of the De Stijl movement, introducing characteristics that still distinguish the Dutch Design movement of today. To celebrate this milestone, NBTC Holland Marketing and its partners have proclaimed 2017 ‘Mondrian to Dutch Design Year’. The event sees the introduction of a ‘Mondrian to Dutch Design’ storyline, which will take visitors to interesting places all over the Netherlands that are connected with works produced in the De Stijl period or with contemporary design. Museums, heritage sites and events throughout the country will focus on top designers, open studio doors and pay tribute to artists like Mondrian, Rietveld, Van der Leck and Van Doesburg.