De Stijl Magazine – J.J.P. Oud Bench vs Berlage Bench

J.J.P. Oud bench in magazine De Stijl
For me learning about De Stijl, a group of artists, designers and architects, but also the name of a Dutch magazine by the same name, is part of uncovering the history of chair design. Therefore I’m sharing this find of the scans of the first 3 volumes of the magazine “De Stijl” by … the University Library of the University of Iowa.
De Stijl magazine was edited by Theo van Doesburg. Leiden, 1917-1932. In total 8 volumes with 90 numbers were published.

The print is from the hall of a Dutch holiday home designed by J.J.P. Oud with benches integrated in the structure of the hall.

Berlage Bench Gemeentemuseum Den Haag

Although Hendrik Petrus Berlage was not part of De Stijl as he was from a slightly older generation of architects, he must have influenced the members of De Stijl. He integrated a bench in a similar way in the The Hague City Museum of Modern Art (Gemeentemuseum Den Haag). Unfortunately The angle of my lens was not wide enough to capture both benches at once:-)

Update 2023: later I found out that Oud knew Berlage and worked with him and thus is most likely influenced by him as well.

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