Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman
Encyclopedia
Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman (commonly called H.N. Werkman; 29 April 1882 – 10 April 1945) was a Dutch
artist
, typographer
and printer
.
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 typeface
s, printing blocks and other printers' materials. He also used stencil
ing and stamp
ing 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 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. 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.
One of the main municipal secondary schools in the city of Groningen, the H.N. Werkman College was named after him and keeps Werkman's heritage alive in its art classes and recurring special projects.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, typographer
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
and printer
Printer (publisher)
In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. With the invention of the moveable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450, printing—and printers—proliferated throughout Europe.Today, printers are found...
.
Werkman was born in Leens
Leens
Leens is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of De Marne.Leens was a separate municipality until 1990, when it was merged with Ulrum, Eenrum and Kloosterburen....
, in the Dutch province of Groningen
Groningen (province)
Groningen [] is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...
. 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
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-named avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
magazine The Next Call, which, like other works of the period, included collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
-like experimentation with typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
s, printing blocks and other printers' materials. He also used stencil
Stencil
A stencil is a thin sheet of material, such as paper, plastic, or metal, with letters or a design cut from it, used to produce the letters or design on an underlying surface by applying pigment through the cut-out holes in the material. The key advantage of a stencil is that it can be reused to...
ing and stamp
Rubber stamp
Rubber stamping, also called stamping, is a craft in which some type of ink made of dye or pigment is applied to an image or pattern that has been carved, molded, laser engraved or vulcanized, onto a sheet of rubber. The rubber is often mounted onto a more stable object such as a wood, brick or an...
ing 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
Battle of the Netherlands
The Battle of the Netherlands was part of Case Yellow , the German invasion of the Low Countries and France during World War II. The battle lasted from 10 May 1940 until 14 May 1940 when the main Dutch forces surrendered...
, 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
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
occupation and a call for spiritual resistance
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
.
On 13 March 1945, the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
arrested Werkman, executing him by firing squad
Execution by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, sometimes called fusillading , is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war.Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice...
along with nine other prisoners near the village of Bakkeveen
Bakkeveen
Bakkefean , or Bakkeveen , is a village of about 2000 inhabitants in the municipality of Opsterland in the east of Friesland in the Netherlands....
on 10 April, three days before Groningen was liberated. 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.
One of the main municipal secondary schools in the city of Groningen, the H.N. Werkman College was named after him and keeps Werkman's heritage alive in its art classes and recurring special projects.