Literature:

Cat. Die Jugendstil-Sammlung, Museum of Arts and Crafts Hamburg, Hamburg 1979, Vol. 4, No. 2199; Sembach/Schulte, Henry van de Velde, Cologne 1992, p. 115.

Else von Guaita-Lampe The furniture designed by Henry van de Velde for the von Guaita-Lampe couple is one of the most impressive examples of the close connection between artistic vision and personal relationships that repeatedly characterized his work. Else von Guaita (1875–1963) was one of Henry van de Velde's early students in Germany. She met the Belgian artist in Munich at the turn of the century before she began working at the School of Applied Arts in Weimar in early 1900. The collaboration between van de Velde and von Guaita-Lampe was not only a business relationship, but also a strong friendship. Van de Velde described her as a lady with ‘extremely refined taste and an alert sensitivity to all things beautiful.’ The interior design of her home in Weimar is a testament to a cohesive ensemble in which every detail was part of a harmonious overall concept. In the early 1920s, van de Velde procured furniture for the Kröller-Müller family after Else von Guaita-Lampe moved away from Weimar. In the 1950s, the furniture then passed to Helene Kröller-Müller's personal advisor Salomon, also known as Sam, van Deventer. The furniture has been in the family ever since. It is an outstanding example of Van de Velde's ideal of the Gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art. Catalogue numbers 395-404 come from the estate of Else von Guaita-Lampe.