Henry van de Velde

The influential print Henry van de Velde was created by Edvard Munch Norwegian, 1863-1944, in 1906. This work is a defining example of Munch's extensive skill in graphic art and his commitment to documenting the major intellectual figures of his era. The subject, Belgian architect and designer Henry van de Velde, was a key figure in the Art Nouveau movement and a contemporary whose aesthetic philosophies resonated with the dramatic shifts occurring in Northern European art at the turn of the century.

Munch executed this portrait using lithography, a versatile and affordable print medium that he favored for distributing his intense psychological imagery. The choice of cream Japanese paper provides a subtle luminosity to the composition, allowing the deep, textured blacks characteristic of the artist’s unique lithographic technique to achieve maximum contrast. Created during a highly prolific period, this stark portrait captures the severe, penetrating gaze of Van de Velde, reflecting the intellectual rigor that defined both the subject and the Norwegian master’s artistic career after 1900.

As a leading voice in Norwegian modernism, Munch utilized portraiture to explore both the character and psychological intensity of his sitters. This historically significant work, classified as a print from 1906, is housed in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Along with other key graphic pieces by the artist, the continued reproduction of works like this ensures that Munch’s innovative approach to the print remains widely accessible through public domain archives and collections.