
Het Vlas, 1941
Illustrator: Bart van der Leck; Author: Hans Christian Andersen; Publisher: N.V. de Spieghel, Amsterdam
Relief prints, letterpress; bound volume
The Modernism Collection, gift of Norwest Bank Minnesota B.98.10.2
Not on View
Designed entirely by Bart van der Leck, Het Vlas is the only fully illustrated book of the De Stijl movement and one of the most sophisticated children’s books of the modern era. Visually austere, the book is limited to rectilinear forms presented in primary colors and black and white. The illustrations accompany a fairy tale by Danish novelist and children’s book author Hans Christian Andersen, which follows the life of the flax plant from flowering, harvest, and processing into linen.
Image: In Copyright. The Modernism Collection, gift of Norwest Bank Minnesota