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Raak Chartres Red Glass Wall Lamp
Willem van Oyen Sr. at work in his factory “BEVO glasindustrie”.
Original Dutch text in the catalogues
Smeltschilderijen
Chartres: zoals kerkramen gebrandschilderd zijn, zo zijn deze glasplastieken ‘gesmeltschilderd’. Op een basis van gewapend glas is een compositie kleurglas gesmolten. Geen twee plastieken zijn hetzelfde, maar ze zijn stuk voor stuk vitaal als een schilderij uit de Cobra-school…
C-1649 hoogte 37 cm, breedte 20 cm. sprong 12 cm, 2 lampen elk tot 75W, bij voorkeur helder.
English translation:
Melt paintings
Chartres: as church windows stained, so are these glass sculptures melt painted. On a base of reinforced glass is a composite colour glass melted. No two sculptures are the same, but they are all vital like a painting from the Cobra art school…
In the price list of January 1973 these lights were sold for 159 gulden, +- 80 euro.
Lamps In The Movies
Le Corps De Mon Ennemi (1976)
The Raak Chartres Wall Lamp was used as a set decoration in the French film Le Corps De Mon Ennemi (Body of my enemy) from 1976 with Jean-Paul Belmondo. Many Raak lamps together with Stilnovo and Harvey Guzzini lamps appear in this movie.
Links (external links open in a new window)
Willem van Oyen – Wikipedia (only in Dutch)
Chartres Cathedral – Wikipedia
Brutalist architecture – Wikipedia
Le Corps De Mon Ennemi (1976) – Wikipedia
Le Corps De Mon Ennemi (1976) – IMDb
Vintageinfo
Raak Chartres Red Glass Wall Lamp
Materials: White painted metal (iron) wall mount. Coloured broken glass on reinforced glass, mainly red coloured glass fragments. Bakelite sockets.
Height: 34 cm / 13.38”
Depth: 14 cm / 5.51”
Width: 24 cm / 9.44”
Electricity: 2 bulbs E14, 2 x 40 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb with an E14 screw base can be used. Not a specific one preferred.
Period: 1960s – Mid-Century Modern.
Designer: Willem van Oyen Sr. (1921-2004).
Manufacturer: Raak, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Other versions: This Raak Chartres red glass wall lamp comes in a few sizes and was also made in green with 2 E27 bulbs. Special models were made as well, usually to order.
The style of lamps such as these is often described as Brutalist. This should not be confused with Brutalist architecture, which belongs to the same period but is something quite different.
Willem van Oyen Sr.
Willem van Oyen Sr., born 28 April 1921 in Amsterdam and died there on 14 November 2004, was a Dutch glass artist, stained-glass artist and industrial designer.
He worked from his own glass studio, BEVO Glasindustrie, where the handmade glass panels for these Raak lamps were produced. Because they were made by hand, no two examples are ever exactly the same.
These wall lamps were inspired by the stained-glass windows of the famous Chartres Cathedral in France, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, about 80 kilometres south-west of Paris.
The BEVO studio was later continued by his son, Willem van Oyen Jr., who joined the workshop in 1978 and took over its management in 1993.
A. Lankhorst
The handmade glass art of these wall lamps is the work of glass artist Willem van Oyen Sr. Some references on the internet incorrectly attribute the design to A. Lankhorst. Lankhorst was an architect who used these lamps in the interior of restaurant Dijkstra in Zwolle, The Netherlands, as mentioned in Raak Catalogue 7 from 1970. He should therefore not be confused with the actual designer of the lamp.
Raak
The Dutch lighting company Raak was founded in 1954 by Carel O. Lockhorn (18 June 1923 – 6 October 2004), who had previously worked for Philips Lighting in Eindhoven. The Dutch word raak can be understood as “on target” or “to hit the mark”, a fitting name for a company that became known for its progressive and carefully considered lighting designs.
Raak is best known for its distinctive Dutch modern lighting of the 1960s and 1970s. Many of their best designs combine glass and metal in a way that feels both elegant and futuristic. Their lighting often has a strong architectural presence, while still retaining a warm and decorative quality. Because of this, Raak became one of the most recognizable names in post-war European lighting.
Over the years, Raak collaborated with a remarkable range of Dutch and international designers and architects, among them Bertrand Balas, Evert Jelle Jelles, Frank Ligtelijn, Ger Vos, Jan Jasper Fayer, Li Helo, Maija-Liisa Komulainen, Nan Platvoet, Nanny Still-McKinney, Nico Kooi, Sergio Asti, Tapio Wirkkala, Willem van Oyen, Rico Baltussen, Kees Terlouw, Yki Nummi, Tobia Scarpa, Berend Bodenkamp, Arihiro Miyake and others.
Collaborations
Raak also worked together with several other lighting and glass companies. For the well-known Globe series, the glass was produced by the German company Peill+Putzler. Raak also sold lamps made by Peill+Putzler, including models designed by Aloys Ferdinand Gangkofner. For the Discus flush mount, the glass was made by the German company Bega. In the late 1950s, Raak also cooperated with the Belgian glass manufacturer Val Saint Lambert for the Stalactites flush mounts. In addition, Raak marketed several lamps produced by Staff Leuchten in Germany, as well as models connected to other European manufacturers.
Carel Lockhorn sold the company in 1974 to ITT, although he remained director until 1977. In 1980, Raak merged with BIS Lighting from Aalsmeer in The Netherlands and continued under the name BisRaak. In 1986, the company became independent again. By then, the collection had changed considerably: the more expressive and decorative character of the 1960s and 1970s gradually gave way to a more restrained, architectural look, often in black, white and grey.
In 1999, Raak merged with Artilite B.V. and Indoor B.V. and became CLA: Centrum voor Lichtarchitectuur B.V. in Drachten. The term Lichtarchitectuur had already been used by Raak as a slogan from the early years onward. CLA was founded by Egbert Keen. The company was declared bankrupt on 19 May 2011.
Raak received 26 iF Design Awards. As the company only began entering the competition in 1980, that number might otherwise have been even higher.
Raak Chartres Red Glass Wall Lamp – Catalogue Picture
Raak Chartres Red Glass Wall Lamp – Catalogue Picture
Raak Chartres Red Glass Wall Lamp – Company Labels
