Description

Dutch Art Deco era chandelier, Amsterdam School, 1920s. Expressionist piece with exuberant details like the multicolored glass in lead, the silk fringes, the carved fruitwood, and the ebonized and carved details. The chandelier also has the almond shape of an eye. The Amsterdam School (Dutch: Amsterdamse School) is a style of architecture that arose from 1910 through circa 1930 in the Netherlands. The Amsterdam School movement is part of the international Expressionist architecture, sometimes linked to German Brick Expressionism. Buildings of the Amsterdam School are characterized by brick construction with complicated masonry with a rounded or organic appearance, relatively traditional massing, and the integration of an elaborate scheme of building elements inside and out: decorative masonry, art glass, wrought ironwork, spires or "ladder" windows (with horizontal bars), and integrated architectural sculpture. The aim was to create a total architectural experience, interior, and exterior. Imbued with socialist ideals, the Amsterdam School style was often applied to working-class housing estates, local institutions and schools. For many Dutch towns, Hendrik Berlage designed the new urban schemes, while the architects of the Amsterdam School were responsible for the buildings. With regard to the architectural style, Michel De Klerk had a different vision than Berlage. In the magazine "Bouwkundig Weekblad 45/1916" Michel De Klerk criticized Berlage's recent buildings in the style of Dutch Traditionalism. In this context, the Stock Exchange by Berlage of 1905 can be seen as the starting point of Traditionalist architecture. From 1920-1930 different parallel movements developed in the Netherlands.