# Nietzsche Archive: entrance hall [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [VELDE, Henry van de]() - Date: 1851-1900 - Technique: Photo ## Commentary The ailing Friedrich Nietzsche \(1844-1900\), the German philosopher and cultural critic, spent his final years in Weimar at the "Villa Silberblick" in the care of his sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche. After his death, she commissioned Henry van de Velde to refurbish the building, especially the rooms of the archive. Van de Velde arrived at a highly successful solution for the Nietzsche Archive, which he was commissioned to design within a historicizing villa. The interior designs and furnishings are among the most exquisite creations ever made by the Belgian architect and designer. His design work included the new porch, the vestibule, the central library and collection room, a small study and a dining room. This ensemble has been almost completely preserved as an artistic masterpiece. Van de Velde designed not only the wooden fittings but also the stoves, the furniture, the casements, the fabric covers, the lamps, the floor tiles and the ornamental vases, which give the rooms a harmonic atmosphere. ## Related artworks - [21-piece cutlery set]() - [Abstract composition with plants]() - [Angels' Vigil]() - [Art Nouveau brooch]() - [Bathing Huts at Blankenberge]() - [Bloemenwerf House: front view]() - [Bloemenwerf House: furnishings]() - [Blue tea gown]() - [Candelabra]() - [Chair]() - [Coffee and tea service]() - [Furnishings from the editorial staff room of La Revue Blanche]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()