C.B. Posthumus Meyjes (1858-1922) Architect Christiaan Bernard Posthumus Meyjes senior was born in Eemnes-Buiten on June 11, 1858 into a Dutch Reformed milieu (this review is based on the introduction of D.C. Posthumus Meyjes, "C.B. Posthumus Meyjes as Master Builder of Protestant Churches," Leiden 1986). After primary and technical school, Posthumus Meyjes received his education at the Polytechnic School in Delft, where he studied under Professor Eugen Gugel (1832-1905) and came into contact with Neo-Renaissance architecture. Other teachers were A.N. Godefroy (1822-1899) and W.A. Froger (1812-1883). Posthumus Meyjes' career falls roughly into three periods and stylistic developments. The first runs from about 1880 to 1887 and includes his commissions for the Hollandse IJzeren Spoorweg Maatschappij, all designed in free neo-Renaissance forms. During the second period, which runs from 1887 to 1919, Posthumus Meyjes worked as a permanent architect for the Dutch Reformed Church in Amsterdam and as an independent architect, again primarily in Amsterdam. Although he remained faithful to the neo-Renaissance during this time, depending on the client and the building type, he also employed a Berlage-inspired style and a modern round-arched style, as well as an austere, monumental classicism going back to seventeenth and eighteenth-century examples and the chalet style. From 1919 until his death in 1917, Posthumus Meyjes served on several committees and designed little himself. Posthumus Meyjes' first known work is a design for a plant and bird garden in Arnhem called "Phoenix," for which he received the first prize together with T.J. Bremmer. Immediately after his studies in 1880 through 1887, Posthumus Meyjes was employed by the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg Maatschappij, where he worked under D.A.N. Margadant (1894-1915). In this capacity, he designed the administration office on the Droogbak in Amsterdam in 1883, followed a year later by Delft station, both executed in free, exuberant neo-Renaissance forms. The best-known work from his early period is the 1895 Snouck van Loosenpark in Enkhuizen. Here, according to the bequest of Lady Maria Margaretha Snouck van Loosen, Posthumus Meyjes was commissioned to build fifty detached houses for "needy and destitute" in a park-like landscape, complete with pond. In 1887, Posthumus Meyjes established himself as an independent architect in Amsterdam. A year later, he received an appointment as architect over the seventeen churches and ancillary buildings of the Nederduitsche Hervormde Gemeente in Amsterdam. He performed this function in collaboration with numerous associates, including A. Redert (supervising churches), J.W. Strebe (general superintendent), R. Jellema and J.J. Bolderhey, making the firm nine people by 1909. The most unusual work from this period is the Nieuwezijds Chapel on a tight plot between Rokin and Kalverstraat. The medieval chapel was demolished in 1908 due to dilapidation and replaced by a chapel with central construction and dome enclosed on three sides by stores and houses. The still existing complex is executed in an eclectic style, with forms borrowed from the Berlage and round-arched styles. For the reformed congregation, Posthumus Meyjes senior built three more churches, including one in Utrecht. He was also involved in various restorations and alterations. For example, in 1912 he provided the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, in which Posthumus Meyjes had been involved since 1894, with a controversial Gothic west facade that was to be more in keeping with the predominantly late Gothic character of the church. In 1916, Posthumus Meyjes settled at Huis ter Heide near Zeist from where he commuted daily to Amsterdam. The final, major work from this last period is the competition design for an extension to the Nederlandsche Bank on the Oude Turfmarkt in Amsterdam. Five architects submitted designs, executed in a variety of styles. Posthumus Meyjes came up with a monumental plan in a severe, neo-Baroque style with a double entrance. The competition eventually fell through and the existing building (today's Allard Pierson Museum) was preserved. From this time on, Posthumus Meyjes' activities were not really creative. However, he was still appointed chairman of the building aesthetics committee in Zeist and advised on restorations, including that of the Oude of Sint Nicolaaskerk in Amsterdam in 1920. In 1919, Christiaan Bernard Posthumus Meyjes junior (1893-1974) became a partner and the firm was renamed "Bureau Posthumus Meyjes and son. Posthumus Meyjes died on October 27, 1927 after a working visit to the Utrecht Cathedral and a climb of the Cathedral Tower proved fatal to him. Posthumus Meyjes is a typical exponent of the late-nineteenth-century architects who tried to find their own way in the midst of a greatly changed society and architectural debate. The classicist and, more specifically, Renaissance architectural language remained the starting point throughout Posthumus Meyjes' career, with some not uninteresting forays into the Berlage and business round-arched style. A permanent and respected appointment at the Dutch Reformed Church in Amsterdam combined with a loyal circle of patrons enabled Posthumus Meyjes to adopt a reserved attitude toward "modern" developments in architecture. At the same time, he used his status and participation in numerous influential public bodies and commissions to make his voice heard. The accompanying oeuvre overview is based on the archives of C.B. Posthumus Meyjes junior and senior (NAi/archive POSX) resting at the Netherlands Architecture Institute and inventory literature research. Projects executed in the period 1919-1927 at the 'Bureau Posthumus Meyjes and son' are included under the works list of Posthumus Meyjes junior since he was the driving force behind the bureau. Education: Polytechnic School Delft/1877-1880 Secondary activities: Weekly De Amsterdammer/co-worker/1880;De Opmerker/editor-in-chief/1883-1887;Architectura et Amicitia/secretary/1885;Maatschappij tot Bevordering der Bouwkunst afdeling Amsterdam/chairman/1893;Bouwkundig Weekblad/editor/1893;Honorary Committee Maatschappij tot Bevordering der Bouwkunst/chairman/1908;Christelijke Historische Unie/member/;Amsterdam city council/member/1906;Raad van Arbitrage voor de Bouwbedrijven in Nederland/founder/1907;Provinciale Staten Noord-Holland/member/;Rijksmonumentencommissie/member/1918; Honors: Officier de l'Instruction Public World's Fair Paris/1889