He was trained as a plate painter, but Gouwen resident Frans van Katwijk (1893-1952) developed into an artistic manager at Plateelbakkerij Schoonhoven. In 1927-1928, he made his breakthrough with the development of artificial glazes. Probably first on hand-turned terracotta with mainly a matt green slip glaze, he later excelled with a sparkling colour palette that was extremely exuberant for the time of crisis. New research shows that in the first half of 1928, Van Katwijk was a student at the Institute for Arts and Crafts in Amsterdam, where he was a lecturer in ceramics under Bert Nienhuis. In the early 1930s he seems to have been influenced in his design by designer Fons Decker of Plateelbakkerij Zuid-Holland. Read more about Plateelbakkerij Schoonhoven, art pottery by Frans van Katwijk >>
