Black Counterbalance Ceiling Lamp by J. J. M. Hoogervorst for Anvia, 1950s

Johannes Joseph Maria Hoogervorst or Jan Hoogervorst (1918-1982) was a Dutch designer,  artist, and architect celebrated for his modernist lighting creations for the Dutch brand Anvia.

Born in Alkmaar, the Netherlands on April 14th, 1918,  Hoogervorst studied architecture before parting from family tradition to start a career as an illustrator. Despite being a gifted artist, Hoogervorst entered the design world in the 1950s after meeting and befriending Ilse Liebert, who was charged with rebuilding her family’s lighting business—Anvia—after the war. Although Hoogervorst had his own design agency, Interdesign, he began designing for Anvia on a regular basis.

Throughout the postwar period, Hoogervorst designed annual collections for Anvia. As a self-taught designer, Hoogervorst’s early designs were influenced by progressive Italian lighting companies, like Arredoluce, Stilnovo, and Arteluce; while his later designs are characterized by a strict, functionalist aesthetic. Many of Hoogervorst’s designs have developed into exemplars of postwar modernism, including the 8025 Floor Lamp (mid-1950s), Grasshopper Floor Lamp (1955), and the Counter Balance Lamp (1957), all of which enjoy considerable success on the vintage market today.

Although Hoogervorst was instrumental in Anvia’s success, the brand produced his designs without ever directly employing him. Nethertheless, the popularity of Hoogervorst’s designs placed Anvia in the top three Dutch lighting manufacturers—among internationally renowned brands Philips and Hala. Throughout the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, Hoogervorst’s own studio, Interdesign, designed the interior of theaters, offices, churches, cinemas, ships, and public places throughout the Netherlands. In 1967, Interdesign landed its commission, to design many light fixtures of the new Schiphol Airport, as well as the garbage bins which are still in use. Another major project of Hoogervorst’s was the lighting design of the old Luxor Theatre in Rotterdam. Over 1,000 bulbs in one sweeping arch still illuminate the theater today. Hoogervorst later went into business with his son—who worked as a distributer for British Thorn Lighting— taking advantage of his electrical knowledge to developing electronically controlled stage lighting.

While visiting his sister in Canada in the early 1980s, Hoogervorst discovered the enormous potential of the underdeveloped lighting design market there and had dreams of emigrating.  Unfortunately, Hoogervorst died at the age of 64, before making the journey.

Dutch lighting manufacturer Anvia is best known for its masterfully minimal floor, table, and ceiling lamps, especially the brand’s midcentury collaborations with celebrated Dutch designer J.J.M. Hoogervorst.

An acronym for Algemeene Nederlandsche Verlichtings Industrie Almelo (Dutch General Lighting Industry Almelo), Anvia was founded in the small Dutch town of Almelo in 1933 by German-born entrepreneur Max Liebert. As a man of Jewish heritage, Liebert was forced to sell his company and relocate to the Netherlands, where he established Anvia as a continuation of his nearly 30-year-old, Berlin-based lighting company Lessmann Moset. In the early years of the company, Anvia was operated by Liebert, his son Werner, and son-in-law Fritz Kaufmann. During the Second World War, Liebert—along with his wife and son—were placed in concentration camps in Sobibor and Auschwitz and executed in 1943. Liebert’s daughter and son-in-law survived by hiding in a neighbor’s house during the war. They began to rebuild Anvia in 1946, after the war ended.

In the early-1950s, Dutch industrial designer Jan "J.J.M." Hoogervorst (1918-1982)—who began his career as an illustrator—met and befriended Ilse Liebert. This marked the beginning of a very successful and fruitful partnership. Although Hoogervorst had his own design agency, Interdesign, he began designing for Anvia on a regular basis, creating a new collection each year. During the 1950s and ’60s, Hoogervorst designed many now iconic products, launching himself into international acclaim and establishing Anvia as one of the three largest Dutch lighting companies, alongside Philips in Eindhoven and Hala in Zeist.

Hoogervorst’s early designs were influenced by progressive Italian lighting companies like Artemide, Stilnovo, and Arteluce; while his later designers are characterized by a strict, functionalist aesthetic. Iconic Anvia designs by Hoogervorst include the 8025 Floor Lamp (mid-1950s), 6019 Desk Lamp (design date unknown), Grasshopper Floor Lamp (1955), and the Counter Balance Lamp (1957).

The company closed production in the mid-1980s. Thirty years later, in 2014, Dutch entrepreneur Michel Klein decided to re-launch the company after finding inspiration in a vintage Anvia lamp from the 1950s. Today, all of Anvia’s lamps are based on Hoogervorst’s original designs and are produced in the Netherlands, close to the original factory site.