Gerrit Th. Rietveld (1888-1964)
3 tube ’Hartog’ Hanging lamp’
Designed 1922-1925
Executed: G.A. v.d. Groenekan, De Bilt,
The Netherlands, 1960-1970.
Painted wood and glass.
40 x 40 x 105 cm.
Cabinet-makers mark on top of the mounting-base;
‘H.G.M., G.A. v.d. Groenekan, De Bilt Nederland’
Hartog
The 3-tube ‘Hartog’ hanging lamp is the best-known lamp design by the Dutch Architect Gerrit Rietveld and a fine example of the works of the Dutch aesthetic movement ‘De Stijl’. The open structure and the intersecting lamps provide a similar spatial composition as we see in Rietveld’s famous slatted furniture, of which the red-blue chair is the best-known example. It is a typical Rietveld design in which the space is indicated and not enclosed. The lamp is named after Dr. Hartog, the client for whom Rietveld made the first version of this design with 4 tubes in 1922.
Modern Antique
It is a historical lamp, but at the same time this abstract light sculpture has not lost any of its expressiveness. Although the design originated a century ago and is therefore antique, the design seems timeless and fits into any modern interior.
Interesting provenance and brandmark.
This lamp was part of the legacy of the Amsterdam art collectors Herman and Henriëtte van Eelen-Weber. They brought together an important collection of conceptual art that was lateron acquired by the Kröller Müller museum in the Netherlands. It was made and branded by Rietveld’s regular cabinet maker Gerard van de Groenekan. This brandmark gives a collector the certainty that this is an original piece that origins from the workshop in which almost all original Rietveld pieces were made.
Museum quality
All parts are original and show a beautiful patina. The originality, the patina, the provenance and the brandmark together make this copy worth collecting. A lamp like this has not only proved to be interesting for collectors, it can also be called a museum-quality like piece. Leading museums such as the MOMA in New York have acquired a similar lamp from the 1960s-1970s for their permanent collection.
This lamp was sold at the art fair PAN Amsterdam 2021 to a private collector.
