Louis van Roode became known for his decorations on apartment buildings and monumental buildings in the reconstruction period of Rotterdam. The reconstruction of the city after the Second World War offered him new possibilities through the collaboration with architects. This self-titled work was designed for the east facade of the Calandlyceum in 1962. It emphasizes the entrance to the school building and makes the building visible from afar. It is a real eye-catcher. Van Roode has made optimal use of the generous dimensions of the architecture; the wall is about 15 meters wide and 7 meters high. In the dynamic composition, the surfaces seem to move from a center to outside the boundaries of the building. The work has a great monumental appearance. It was also innovative in its technique: shards of glass that have been incorporated into a very sculptural looking concrete relief.
During the Reconstruction period, the Rotterdam artist Louis van Roode (Delft, 1914 - Rotterdam, 1964) often worked on commission for the new architecture. He made many murals and mosaics, which adorned modern architecture, but which also told their own story about nature, culture, man and the cosmos. Major works by his hand have been preserved in Rotterdam, but also in Vlissingen, Eindhoven and The Hague. He can rightly be called one of the greatest wall artists of his time.
Concrete plastic with colored glass accents above the Calandlyceum school building entrance
Materials
Stained glass in concrete
Dimensions
Approximately 15 x 7 m
Year
1962
Client
Municipality of Rotterdam (OJV)
Recruitment
Committee for the Rotterdam percentage scheme
Money source
Percentage regulation, involved construction assignment
Owner
Property owner
About the artwork
Louis van Roode became known for his decorations on apartment buildings and monumental buildings in the reconstruction period of Rotterdam. The reconstruction of the city after the Second World War offered him new possibilities through the collaboration with architects. This self-titled work was designed for the east facade of the Calandlyceum in 1962. It emphasizes the entrance to the school building and makes the building visible from afar. It is a real eye-catcher. Van Roode has made optimal use of the generous dimensions of the architecture; the wall is about 15 meters wide and 7 meters high. In the dynamic composition, the surfaces seem to move from a center to outside the boundaries of the building. The work has a great monumental appearance. It was also innovative in its technique: shards of glass that have been incorporated into a very sculptural looking concrete relief.
During the Reconstruction period, the Rotterdam artist Louis van Roode (Delft, 1914 - Rotterdam, 1964) often worked on commission for the new architecture. He made many murals and mosaics, which adorned modern architecture, but which also told their own story about nature, culture, man and the cosmos. Major works by his hand have been preserved in Rotterdam, but also in Vlissingen, Eindhoven and The Hague. He can rightly be called one of the greatest wall artists of his time.
