Johan Mutters
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Johannes Mutters, jr. | |
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Zuid Holland, Netherlands | |
| Died | 13 December 1930 (aged 72) Wassenaar, Zuid Holland, Netherlands |
| Occupation | Architect |
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Johannes Mutters, jr. (The Hague, 6 November 1858 – Wassenaar, 13 December 1930) was a Dutch architect, based in his hometown. He was chiefly known for his house designs and his involvement in the flourishing of Nieuwe Kunst (the Dutch strand of Art Nouveau or Jugendstil) in the early years of the twentieth century.
Early life, family, and education
Mutters was born in The Hague in 1858 as the son of Johannes Mutters (sr.), whose father was Herman Pieter Mutters (1797–1864), the founder of the Mutters carpentry and furniture factory on the Molenstraat, near the Koningspoort in The Hague. The firm was well known for its interiors under the leadership of Herman Pieter I to Herman Pieter V, successively. The H.P. Mutters company furnished luxury ships, offices, villas, the Peace Palace in The Hague, and exhibited at several international expositions. Johan Mutters would eventually collaborate regularly with his cousin Herman Pieter III (1855–1922) on designs at world's expositions (Paris 1900, Roubaix 1911), as well as industrial buildings.[1]
Mutters was well-educated. When he finished high school in the 1870s, he began an apprenticeship with the architect C. Muysken, who was then building the Kasteel Oud Wassenaar; at the same time, he took night classes at the Academie van Beeldende Kunsten (Academy of Visual Arts) in The Hague. He embarked on a study trip in 1881, then transferred to the Academie van Beeldende Kunsten in Antwerp, before establishing his own firm in The Hague.[1]
On 16 June 1887 he married Maria Catharina Brouwer (1862–1934) of Rotterdam.[2]
Eclecticism and the Nieuwe Kunst
However, Mutters belonged to a group of architects from The Hague who were looking for innovative architectural styles and materials, like many architects all over Europe and North America around the turn of the century. He was quick to notice the appearance of Art Nouveau internationally, and with his design for the Lensvelt-Nicola Building at Venestraat 27–29 (1895) he is sometimes credited as the man who introduced the Nieuwe Kunst to the city, followed soon afterwards by the building at Hoogstraat 30 (1897). With its unorthodox emphasis on curvilinear forms and brightly colored materials, the Nieuwe Kunst soon became a popular style for many commercial establishments.[1]
A slew of commissions soon came Mutters’ way, and he eventually became involved in the designs and renovations of several hotels, shops, offices, a sports park, theaters, and factories, mostly in The Hague and in Schveningen. Probably the best of these was the house he built for his family at 13 Wassenaarseweg in The Hague in 1896. The facade was decorated with Art Nouveau floral motifs and a spacious stairwell built around the hall, not unlike the domestic designs of Victor Horta in Brussels. Sadly, the building was demolished during World War II.
About the same time, Mutters expanded the home of the literary group Sociëteit de Witte on the Plein in 1897–98 with a new wing whose façade copies the original austere neoclassical design by Cornelis Outshoorn, but Mutters was allowed to decorate employ Nieuwe Kunst for the interior. At the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, he showed his design for a house at 35 Jan van Nassaustraat in The Hague, where his choice of the English Tudor style is complemented by Jugendstil details both at the entrance and at the gates. Details between the natural stone bands at the top facade seen in the design have disappeared, however. Also at the fair, with Karel Sluyterman, Mutters designed the Dutch pavilion in a striking Nieuwe Kunst design with multiple spires and lacy window surrounds and spandrels.[3]
Mutters’ success meant his office grew in the number of employees, as well, attracting some talented names. In 1914 Jan Wils became an apprentice draftsman for Mutters, but would leave to set up his own office two years later and become a member of De Stijl; he would go on to design the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam for the 1928 games.[5]
De Kievet, Kiwevietsduin, and Wildrust
The most noteworthy of the three is De Kievet, formally in Waasenaar, where Mutters designed several houses using numerous variations of the modest English cottage, undoubtedly an homage to the well-established British Garden City model. In general, the masonry structures with overhanging eaves were sheltered by thatched roofs and distinguished by their central halls that radiated a sense of warmth and security. More luxurious dwellings included terraces, conservatories and balconies that overlooked gardens. One of the first houses Mutters built in the area was his family's own, called “Berkenhof” after its address at Berklaan 1, a stately but old-fashioned building into which the Mutterses moved in 1915. In all, Mutters built 38 houses in the new development, of which 30 have survived; his house is not one of these, having been demolished in 1975.[1] Another demolished Mutters design is the villa called “’t Hoveke,” formerly located at Waldeck Pyrmontlaan 33, the home of the architect's cousin H.P. Mutters. Mutters also built the local Kievetschool in 1922, a picturesque yet homely brick structure.[6]
Eventually, in the 1920s, Mutters was asked to develop a master plan for the municipality of Waasenaar, into which he invested a significant amount of time and effort, ultimately projecting population growth into a city of 500,000 residents, a rather unlikely prospect. The town council initially agreed to implement it, but the unrealistic projections of Mutters’ proposal forced them to rescind their decision a few years later.[1]
Further reading
- Mutters, Johan. Johs. Mutters jr. architect 's-Gravenhage: uitgevoerde gebouwen, projecten, enz., 2 ed., Bussum: Bibliotheek voor de moderne Hollandsche architectuur, 1916.
- Een eeuw Park de Kieviet 1910–2010, ISBN 978 90 9025158 5. Wassenaar: Bewoners vereniging, Park de Kieviet, 2010.
- Reddingius, L.E. “Johannes Mutters Jr.: een literatuuronderzoek en de speurtocht naar een turkooizen erfenis”, Master's thesis, Universiteit van Leiden, faculteit Kunstgeschiedenis, architectuurgeschiedenis, 2009.
- Bart D. Ir, Johannes Mutters 1858-1930, ISBN 978 90 8704 7795. Rijswijk: Stichting Bonas, 2019.
- H. Rosenberg, Ch. Vaillant and D. Valentijn, Architectuurgids Den Haag 1800-1940. The Hague: SDU Uitgeverij, 1988), ISBN 9012055083.
- Carla Scheffer and Robert van Lit, Jong Monumentaal Wassenaar - Architectuur en Stedenbouw 1800–1940, Wassenaar, 2002.
- Robert van Lit, Moderne bouwkunst in Wassenaar 1900–1965. Waasenaar: Comité Open Monumentendag, Gemeente Wassenaar en Historische Vereniging "Oud Wassenaer", 2007.
- Park de Kieviet & Kievietsduin: Ruimte, Groen en duinen Waasenaar [4] (in Dutch).
References
- ^ a b c d e f P.B., “Johan Mutters, jr.” Een Eeuw Park de Kieviet 1910–2010 (Wassenaar: Bewonersvereniging De Kieviet, 2010), text in Dutch available at https://www.parkdekieviet.nl/geschiedenis.html. Accessed 1 April 2023.
- ^ “Marriage on June 16, 1887 in Rotterdam (Netherlands)”[1], openarchives.nl. Accessed 2 April 2023.
- ^ Jacqueline Knudsen, “Art Nouveau: queeste naar het authentieke in design,” ArchitectuurNL, 23 May 2018. Accessed 1 April 2023.
- ^ Bureau Vlaardingerbroek, ‘’Het v. Hotel Central te’s-Gravenhage: Bouwhistorische opname Waardenstelling en Advisiering’’ [2] (Utrecht, 2019), 37.
- ^ Sjaak Priester, “Architect Jan Wils: Eenvoudig en strak,”[3] Ons Amsterdam (1 January 2008). Accessed 2 April 2023.
- ^ a b “Park de Kieviet, een park om in te wonen,” in Een Eeuw Park de Kieviet 1910–2010 (Wassenaar: Bewonersvereniging De Kieviet, 2010), text in Dutch available at https://www.parkdekieviet.nl/uploads/1/3/5/7/135736063/3-parkdekievieteenparkomintewonen.pdf. Accessed 2 April 2023.
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