- Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman
Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman (commonly called H.N. Werkman;
April 29 1882 –April 10 1945 ) was a Dutchartist , 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-namedavant-garde magazine "The Next Call ", which, like other works of the period, includedcollage -like experimentation withtypeface s,printing block s and other printers' materials. He also usedstencil ing 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 theBaal 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 , theGestapo arrested Werkman, executing him by firing squad along with nine other prisoners near the village ofBakkeveen 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.
References
* Martinet, Jan. "Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman – 'Druksels' Prints and General Printed Matter". Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1977.
External links
* [http://www.werkman.org H.N. Werkman College]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
