Hendrik nicolaas werkman wikipedia

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Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman (commonly called H.N. Werkman; 29 April 1882 – 10 April 1945) was an experimental Dutch artist, typographer and printer. He set up a clandestine printing house during the Nazi occupation (1940–1945) and was shot by the Gestapo in the closing days of the war.

Werkman was born in Leens, in the Dutch province of Groningen. In 1908, he established a printing and publishing house in Groningen that at its peak employed twenty workers. Financial setbacks forced its closure in 1923, after which Werkman started anew with a small workshop in the attic of a warehouse.

Werkman was a member of the artists' group De Ploeg ("The Plough"), for which he printed posters, invitations and catalogues. From 1923 to 1926, he produced his own English-named avant-garde magazine The Next Call, which, like other works of the period, included collage-like experimentation with typefaces, printing blocks and other printers' materials. He also used stenciling and stamping to achieve unique effects. He would distribute the magazine by exchanging it for works by other avant-garde artists and designers throughout Europe.

In May 1940, soon after the German invasion of the Netherlands, Werkman, together with his friend August Henkels and others, began publishing a series of Hassidic stories from the legend of the Baal Shem Tov through their clandestine publishing house De Blauwe Schuit ("The Blue Barge"). Running to forty publications, all designed and illustrated by Werkman, the series was a subtly rebellious commentary on the Nazi occupation and a call for spiritual resistance.

On March 13, 1945, the Gestapo arrested Werkman, executing him along with nine other prisoners by firing squad on April 10, three days before Groningen was liberated. His paintings and prints, which the Gestapo had confiscated, were lost in a fire as the city was r

Dutch artist, typographer and printer

Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman (commonly called H. N. Werkman; 29 April 1882 – 10 April 1945) was an experimental Dutchartist, typographer, and printer. He set up a clandestine printing house during the Nazi occupation (1940–1945) and was shot by the Gestapo in the closing days of the war.

Life and work

Werkman was born on 29 April 1882 in Leens, in the province of Groningen. He was the son of a veterinary surgeon who died while he was young, after which his mother moved the family to the city of Groningen. In 1908, he established a printing and publishing house there that at its peak employed some twenty workers. Financial setbacks forced its closure in 1923, after which Werkman started anew with a small workshop in the attic of a warehouse.

Werkman was a member of the artists' group De Ploeg ("The Plough"), for whom he printed posters, invitations and catalogues. From 1923 to 1926, he produced his own English-named avant-garde magazine The Next Call, which, like other works of the period, included collage-like experimentation with typefaces, printing blocks and other printers' materials. He would distribute the magazine by exchanging it for works by other avant-garde artists and designers abroad and so kept in touch with progressive trends in European art. Among the most fruitful contacts were with Theo van Doesburg, Kurt Schwitters, El Lissitzky and Michel Seuphor, the last of whom exhibited a print of his in Paris. This exchange would prove very fruitful, as foreign magazines served as a source of inspiration for Werkman – as he himself admitted, even though he did not always understand the contents, Werkman searched for new ideas on the pages of the magazines he received.

Such contact was vital while Werkman was building up his business and could not leave Groningen. In 1929 he was able to visit Col

Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman

Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, who is usually referred to as H.N. Werkman, was born in 1882 in Leens, The Netherlands. He died in 1945 in Bakkeveen, The Netherlands. He was a well-known Dutch artist, typographer and printer. In 1908, he founded a printing and publishing house in Groningen. It closed in 1923, but Werkman started anew with a small workshop in the attic of a warehouse. Werkman was a member of the artists' group De Ploeg, for which he printed posters, invitations and catalogues. From 1923 to 1926, he produced his own English-named avant-garde magazine The Next Call, which, like other works of the period, included collage-like experimentation with typefaces, printing blocks and other printers' materials. He also used stenciling and stamping to achieve unique effects.

Regarding his death, I cite Wikipedia: In May 1940, soon after the German invasion of the Netherlands, Werkman, together with his friend August Henkels and others, began publishing a series of Hassidic stories from the legend of the Baal Shem Tov through their clandestine publishing house De Blauwe Schuit ("The Blue Barge"). Running to forty publications, all designed and illustrated by Werkman, the series was a subtly rebellious commentary on the Nazi occupation and a call for spiritual resistance. On 13 March 1945, the Gestapo arrested Werkman, executing him by firing squad along with nine other prisoners near the village of Bakkeveen on 10 April, three days before Groningen was liberated. Many of his paintings and prints, which the Gestapo had confiscated, were lost in the fire that broke out during the battle between German and Canadian forces over the city.

Several typefaces were made that were inspired by Werkman. There are also entire web site and exhibitions dedicated to Werkman---see, e.g., the site of Bunker Type (Jesus Morentin) in Barcelona. A partial list of revival typefaces:

Groninger Museum link.

EXTERNAL LINKS
Hendrik Nicolaas Werkm

Hendrik Werkman (29 April 1882 - 10 April 1945) was an experimental Dutch typographer and printer, partly as commercial profession, partly as a free artist. He set up a clandestine printing-house during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands (1940–45) and was shot by the Gestapo in the last days of the German occupation.

Quotes of Hendrik Werkman

chronologically arranged, after date of the quotes of Hendrik Werkman

1920's

• There the telephone is ringing again - the engine, the machines [of the printing company] that call you with their sounds - those people who honor and tease [you] with their orders and admonitions - the chiefs who ask - the bills that have to be paid - the interest that force you to work.
  • version in original Dutch (origineel citaat van Hendrik Werkman, in het Nederlands): Daar heb je weer de telefoon, de motor de machines [ van de drukkerij] die met hun geluiden je roepen, die mensen die met hun orders en standjes vereeren en plagen, de chefs die vragen, de wissels die betaald moeten worden, de rente die je noodzaakt tot werken.
    • Quote of Hendrik Werkman, c. 1920's; as cited by Martin Werkman, in Pakketten voor Dames, quoted by Doeke Sijens in H. N. Werkman - Leven & Werk - 1882-1945, ed. A. de Vries, J. van der Spek, D. Sijens, M. Jansen; WBooks, Groninger Museum / Stichting Werkman, 2015 (transl: Fons Heijnsbroek), p. 35

• GRONINGEN, BERLIN, MOSCOW, PARIS 1923
  Start of the violet season
  Reader
  As we are convinced that it is not too LATE, we will speak.
  Time is running, honestly.. ..it has become necessary now to do something, before it is too late
  There must be witnessing and speaking..
  ..Art is everywhere. She is thrown us people on our jackets by the birds. In every infant with weak intestines, the latent seed is laid for an artist..
  Our first publication will soon be published. We urgently invite you to become a fellow reader [of the upcoming art-magazine '