Jaap Gidding
The Rotterdam-born artist Jaap Gidding (1887-1955) was trained as a decorator and painter in the family business. Later he became a designer of painted glass, carpets, ceramics and glass. He frequently designed utility glass for the Glass Factory of Leerdam. Gidding was one of the most important Art Deco artists in the Netherlands. In the twenties and thirties, when modernism emerged with its lack of ornament, Gidding nevertheless remained popular as a 'decorative artist'. In his work there are influences from German expressionism and Chinese art. His most famous work is the impressive foyer, the ‘Pauwenzaal’, of Theater Tuschinski in Amsterdam.