Walter D. van Diedenhoven (1886-1915), designer

NEDERLANDSCHE VEREENIGING VOOR AMBACHTS-EN NIJVERHEIDSKUNST TENTOONSTELLING VAN KUNSTWERKEN IN HET STEDELIJK MUSEUM TE AMSTERDAM [Dutch Association for Arts and Crafts Exhibition of Artworks at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam]  

Lithograph

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Dieperink & Co.

1911

approx. 24 3/4 x 33 3/4 inches.

An elegant and richly detailed poster advertising the 1911 exhibition prepared by the Nederlandsche Vereeniging voor Ambachts- en Nijverheidskunsta (V.A.N.K.) [Dutch Association for Craft and Industrial Art], exemplifying the Art Nouveau style. 

The exhibition was the first members' exhibition organized by VANK, and to advertise the event, they launched a competition for the poster design, requiring artists to submit their designs in lithography. The group made the requirement not only to ensure artist submitted their own work but to support the practice of lithography, which they saw as being in decline. 

The design was a breakthrough piece for artist Walter D. van Diedenhoven. At center, the robed personification of Art & Craftsmanship bears an orb of beaming light and a globe bearing a pierced heart. Beneath both, flowers bloom, suggesting that inspiration, the celestial light, and passion, the streams of blood, are necessary for the creation of great art. His design was chosen unanimously, and he was tasked with creating two variations, the one here used for the exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and another used for the VANK exhibition at the Museum of Applied Arts in Oslo (Kristiana) later that year. 

References

Sipke van de Peppel. "De onvervulde belofte van Walter van Diedenhoven" [Walter van Diedenhoven's Unfulfilled Promise]. Anno 1900. 

Some rubbing and creases. Complete condition report available upon request.