Jonkheer
(female equivalent: ; in the masculine only; ''jonkvrouw'' is used in the feminine, even in French; ) is an honorific in the Low Countries denoting the lowest rank within the nobility. In the Netherlands, this in general concerns a prefix used ...
Willem Jacob Henri Berend Sandberg (24 October 1897 – 8 April 1984) was a
Dutch typographer
Typography is the art and technique of Typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...
, museum
curator
A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...
, and member of the
Dutch resistance
The Dutch resistance () to the History of the Netherlands (1939–1945), German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized as non-violent. The primary organizers were the Communist Party of the Netherlands, C ...
during World War II.
Early life and career
Sandberg was born in
Amersfoort
Amersfoort () is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. As of 31 January 2023, the municipality had ...
in 1897 and studied art in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. He became a follower of the
Mazdaznan movement. As a young man he traveled, serving as an apprentice to a printer in
Herrliberg, Switzerland. In 1927, he visited
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, where he studied
Otto Neurath
Otto Karl Wilhelm Neurath (; ; 10 December 1882 – 22 December 1945) was an Austrian-born philosopher of science, sociologist, and political economist. He was also the inventor of the ISOTYPE method of pictorial statistics and an innovator in ...
's
Isotype system at the
Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftsmuseum.
At this time, he also visited the
Dessau
Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...
Bauhaus
The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...
and met
Naum Gabo
Naum Gabo (born Naum Neemia Pevsner; Russian language, Russian: Наум Борисович Певзнер; Hebrew language, Hebrew: נחום נחמיה פבזנר) (23 August 1977) was an influential sculptor, theorist, and key figure in Russia's ...
, a pioneer of kinetic art.
Returning to Amsterdam, Sandberg started work as a graphic designer, utilizing his printing skills and Neurath's Isotype system. In 1928, he started a long relationship with the
Stedelijk Museum
The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. , and in 1932 became a member of
VANK
The Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (), abbreviated VANK (), is an Internet-based South Korean organization established by Park Ki-Tae in 1999, consisting of 120,000 South Korean members and 30,000 international members. VANK's membership consis ...
, the Dutch Society for Arts and Crafts.
He soon joined the committee that determined the exhibitions of the museum. From 1937 to 1941, he served as the museum's curator of modern art.
Participation in the Dutch resistance
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Sandberg was active in the
Dutch resistance
The Dutch resistance () to the History of the Netherlands (1939–1945), German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized as non-violent. The primary organizers were the Communist Party of the Netherlands, C ...
movement, preparing forged documents for Jews and others wanted by the
Gestapo
The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
.
[''Eye Magazine. Willem Sandberg: Warm printing''. Summer 1997]
/ref> Other prominent individuals in the Raad van Verzet (Resistance Council) included painter and author Willem Arondeus, sculptors Gerrit van der Veen and Frits van Hall, cellist Frieda Belinfante, poet Martinus Nijhoff, dancer Suzy van Hall, lawyer Lau Mazirel, and composer and conductor Jan van Gilse.Joods Historish Museum
/ref> Within a short time, the Nazis began to expose the false documents by comparing the names with those in the local population registry. To hinder the Nazis, on 27 March 1943, Sandberg was among those who took part in planning the bombing of the Amsterdam Public Records Office. Thousands of files were destroyed, and the attempt to compare forged documents with the registry was hindered. Arondeus and ten others were later arrested and executed by firing squad.[Yad Vashem: The Righteous Among The Nations]
/ref> His wife and son were arrested and incarcerated for several months.
From December 1943 to April 1945, Sandberg went into hiding as Henri Willem van den Bosch to avoid arrest. During his time on the run, he formulated the ''Experimenta Typographica'', a series of 19 experimental typography pamphlets.''''
For his participation in the resistance movement and helping to save the lives of Jews during the war, Sandberg was recognized as Righteous Among The Nations
Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
on 26 November 1968.
Contributions to the Stedelijk Museum
Sandberg began working for the Stedelijk Museum
The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. in 1928 and was appointed curator in 1937. During his tenure as curator, Sandberg expanded the museum and developed new exhibition techniques, for which he gained international renown. He applied his graphic design and typography skills to over 300 catalogues. After the war, he served as director of the museum until his retirement in 1962.
In his retirement, he served on the committees for the Beaubourg in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and the Israel Museum
The Israel Museum (, ''Muze'on Yisrael'', ) is an Art museum, art and archaeology museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world's leading Encyclopedic museum, encyclopa ...
in Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
.
The Sandberg Institute, part of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy of Art and Design, bears his name.
References
* 'Presentation of Vision '67:Willem Sandberg' in ''Design Issues'', Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring, 1986), pp. 64–77, MIT Press
External links
* Marcel Janco, Portrait of Willem Sandberg, The Israel Museum
The Israel Museum (, ''Muze'on Yisrael'', ) is an Art museum, art and archaeology museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world's leading Encyclopedic museum, encyclopa ...
Collectio
*Literature by and about Willem Sandber
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandberg, Willem
1897 births
1984 deaths
Dutch graphic designers
Dutch typographers and type designers
Directors of museums in Amsterdam
People from Amersfoort
Dutch resistance members
Dutch Righteous Among the Nations
AIGA medalists