Lambertus (Bert) Nienhuis (14 November 1873 in Groningen – 1960 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch ceramist, designer and jewelry designer.

Life and work

Nienhuis was born in Groningen as the son of the broker Lambertus Nienhuis (1834–1890) and Alberdina Good House (1835–1875). He was educated at the

Minerva Academy Minerva Academy FC (often referred to as Minerva Punjab) is an Indian professional multi-sports club based in Mohali, Punjab (India), Punjab, best known for its association football, football and cricket academies, and futsal team. Club's foot ...

in his hometown and then at the State School of Applied Arts in Amsterdam (Rijksschool voor Kunstnijverheid Amsterdam). In 1895 he worked for the stoneware factories De Distel in Amsterdam. A year later he founded Lotus Tile Bakery in

Watergraafsmeer The Watergraafsmeer is a polder in the Netherlands. It was reclaimed in 1629. In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were many buitenplaatsen in the Watergraafsmeer, though nowadays only one, Frankendael, remains. Since 1921, the Watergraafsmee ...

. His company was taken over in 1901 by De Distel, and Nienhuis became in charge of the decorative department. His invention of a matte glaze was quickly adopted by other factories. From 1905 Nienhuis lecturer at the School of Applied Arts in Haarlem. He began that year with jewelry design for the jewelry firm Hoeker & Son. For one of his designs he was awarded a silver medal at the 1910 World Fair in Brussels. In his early jewelry design, until 1912, Nienhuis used simple abstracted natural ornaments in both the decoration and in the shape. He especially worked with gold, precious stones and enamel work. His ornaments are considered examples of the Dutch

art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

. In 1912 Nienhuis moved from Haarlem to the German city of

Hagen Hagen () is the Largest cities in Germany, 41st-largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany. The municipality is located in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the R ...

, where he was a teacher at a newly established

Kunstgewerbeschule A Kunstgewerbeschule (English: ''School of Arts and Crafts'' or S''chool of Applied Arts'') was a type of vocational arts school that existed in German-speaking countries from the mid-19th century. The term Werkkunstschule was also used for thes ...

. He got his own studio and plenty of space to experiment with new materials and techniques. He produced ceramic sculptures. In 1916 he returned to the Netherlands, partly because of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1917 he was appointed teacher at

Quellinusschool The Quellinusschool or ''Kunstnijverheidsschool Quellinus'', was a school for sculptors in Amsterdam named after the Quellinus family of sculptors, founded in 1877. It was founded as the ''Teekenschool voor Kunstambachten'' (Drawing school for art ...

, which he would remain until his retirement in 1934. In this time as an independent potter, he made unica with characteristic simple forms. In 1953 Nienhuis Dirk Hubers,

Harm Kamerlingh Onnes Harm Henrick Kamerlingh Onnes (15 February 1893 – 20 May 1985 in Leiden) was a Dutch portrait painter and ceramist,Mienke Simon Thomas (2008). Goed in vorm: honderd jaar ontwerpen in Nederland'' p. 188 who also produced designs for stamps and s ...

Piet Wiegman Petrus Cornelis Constant (Piet) Wiegman (Zwolle, 18 April 1885 – Alkmaar, 30 September 1963 ) was a Dutch painter, graphic artist, sculptor, ceramist and puppeteer.Frans Wildenhain Frans Wildenhain also known as Franz Rudolf Wildenhain (June 5, 1905 – January 25, 1980) was a Bauhaus-trained German potter and sculptor, who taught for many years at the School for American Craftsmen (now School for American Crafts) at the Ro ...

took part in the exhibition "five contemporary potters" in

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from the two most important collectors of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. It is located at ...

, which was one of the first museum presentations of modern artisan ceramics in the Netherlands.Mienke Simon Thomas (2008).
Goed in vorm: honderd jaar ontwerpen in Nederland
'' p. 188 The portrait photographer Bert Nienhuis (born 1944) from Amsterdam is a grandchild of Bert Nienhuis.Mischa Cohen.

" in ''

Vrij Nederland ''Vrij Nederland'' (Free Netherlands) is a Dutch magazine, established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper. It has since grown into a magazine. The originally weekly and now monthly magaz ...

,'' 3 december 2008.

Gallery

File:Vaas met gestileerd decor van vlinder, 1903-10.jpg, Vase with stylized decor of a butterfly, 1903-10. File:Tegel met gestileerd visdecor, 1905-15.jpg, Tile with stylized fish decor, 1905-15. File:Sieraad, hanger, in de vorm van een blad aan zwart fluwelen koort, 1920-30.jpg, Necklace in the shape of a leaf with a black velvet cord, 1920-30. File:Vaas met deksel met reliëfdecor van opschrift door Bert Nienhuis, 1931.jpg, Vase with cover and relief decoration, 1931.

Work in public collections (selection)

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the St ...

Amsterdam *

Princessehof Ceramics Museum The Princessehof Ceramics Museum (in Dutch: Keramiekmuseum Princessehof) is a museum of ceramics in the city of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands. The museum's name comes from one of two buildings in which it is housed: a small palace ( means ‘royal ...

References

External links

*
Nienhuis, Lambertus (Bert)
at capriolus.nl. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nienhuis, Lambertus 1873 births 1960 deaths Dutch ceramists Dutch designers Dutch jewelry designers People from Groningen (city)

Life and work

Gallery

Work in public collections (selection)

See also

References

External links