Wendingen

Wendingen
Title	Wendingen
Publisher	Architectura
Founded	1918
Finaldate	1932
Country	Netherlands
Language	Dutch
Based	Amsterdam

Wendingen was a Dutch art and architecture periodical published in Amsterdam from 1918 to 1932. Edited by members of the Dutch Association of Architects, the magazine became influential in promoting Expressionism, Nieuwe Kunst, and later debates around De Stijl, attracting contributors from across Europe and the Americas. Over its run Wendingen combined theoretical essays, manifestos, monographs, and striking graphic design, engaging figures associated with Amsterdam School, Bauhaus, Werkbund, and early modernist movements.

History

Wendingen emerged in the aftermath of World War I as part of a wider reconfiguration of cultural institutions including De Stijl (journal), Het Overzicht, and Cahiers d'Art. Founded under the auspices of the Architectura et Amicitia circle and linked to the journalistic networks of Amsterdamse Kunstkring and the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, it sought to present alternatives to turn-of-the-century publications such as The Studio and Ver Sacrum. Early editorial leadership included architects associated with Hendrik Petrus Berlage's followers and collaborators of Michel de Klerk and J.A. Goossen. The magazine's lifespan intersected major events such as the Treaty of Versailles, the rise of Soviet Union cultural policy debates, and economic shifts culminating in the Great Depression, which contributed to its cessation in 1932.

Editorial and Publication Profile

Wendingen was published quarterly by the Amsterdam firm Architectura, with editorial offices connected to institutions like the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and the Rijksmuseum. Editors and board members included practitioners and theorists linked to Hendrik Wijdeveld, Henriëtte van der Meij, and associates of J.J.P. Oud and Piet Kramer. The periodical carried articles in Dutch with occasional translations of texts by contributors from Germany, France, Belgium, United Kingdom, United States, and Italy. It positioned itself among contemporary outlets like L'Esprit Nouveau, Der Sturm, and Broom, responding to manifestos from Le Corbusier and polemics by Adolf Loos while also publishing essays sympathetic to Friedrich Hundertwasser-era retrospectives. The editorial policy favored monographic issues devoted to individual architects, artists, or movements, and it coordinated thematic numbers on pottery, typography, and urban planning linked to debates in International Congresses of Modern Architecture.

Design and Visual Style

Wendingen became renowned for its bold typographic experiments and cover designs, frequently commissioning graphic artists associated with De Stijl and Amsterdam School craft traditions. Covers by designers who worked with Gerrit Rietveld, Jurriaan Schrofer, and illustrators in the circles of Theo van Doesburg displayed techniques akin to work in Typographische Monatsblätter and Bauhausbücher. The magazine combined photomontage influenced by László Moholy-Nagy, woodcut aesthetics reminiscent of Edvard Munch, and ornamental brickwork motifs echoing Michel de Klerk and Piet Kramer architecture. Its paper choices, binding, and layout paralleled innovations seen in Penguin Books design experiments and in artist books issued by Cahiers d'Art and Éditions de la Maison française.

Contributors and Notable Issues

Wendingen published texts and visual work by a wide international roster including architects, artists, critics, and historians. Contributors ranged from practitioners linked to Hendrik Petrus Berlage, J.J.P. Oud, Piet Kramer, and Michel de Klerk to international figures associated with Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, Antonio Sant'Elia, and Adolf Loos. The periodical ran dedicated numbers on Hendrik Petrus Berlage, M.C. Escher, Hendrik Wijdeveld, and thematic issues addressing ceramics linked to De Porceleyne Fles and typography referencing Johannes Gutenberg traditions. It also featured critics and historians associated with the Rijksmuseum and essays by editors who later lectured at institutions such as the Delft University of Technology and the Academy of Fine Arts, Ghent.

Reception and Influence

Contemporaries in Germany and France recognized Wendingen for its uncompromising visual identity and its advocacy of expressionist architecture against the rationalist tendencies of De Stijl and International Style proponents. Reviews appeared in journals like Der Sturm, L'Art Vivant, and The Architectural Review, with polemics involving figures such as Le Corbusier and Peter Behrens. The magazine influenced municipal commissions in Amsterdam and housing projects associated with the Amsterdam School, and it informed debates at forums including the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne and exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.

Legacy and Collections

After its closure in 1932, Wendingen's issues became sought-after collectors' items and study resources for historians of Expressionism, Amsterdam School, and early modern typographic design. Major archives holding complete runs include the Rijksmuseum Research Library, the Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam, the Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD), and university libraries at Delft University of Technology and Utrecht University. Retrospectives and catalogues have appeared in exhibitions at institutions like the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, and the Museum of Modern Art, ensuring Wendingen's continued citation in scholarship on interwar European architecture, graphic design, and art history.

Category:Dutch magazines Category:Art history Category:Architecture magazines Category:Publications established in 1918