A Life in Clay and Glass

Johannes Christiaan Lanooy, known to many as Chris, lived a life shaped by the textures of his craft. Born in 1881 in Sint-Annaland, he was the son of Cornelis Lanooij and Janna van 't Hof. His early years were marked by a natural pull toward drawing and painting, a passion that led him to the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. While he studied under figures like Pierre Cuypers and Jan Lugthart, his path as a ceramist was one he carved out for himself through self-directed learning.

At only fifteen years old, Lanooy began working as a pupil pottery painter at the N.V. Haagsche Plateelbakkerij Rozenburg. This early start in the factories of The Hague, Gouda, and Purmerend grounded him in the practical realities of his medium. He was a man who understood the heat of the kiln and the chemistry of a glaze. His hands were as comfortable with the precision of a draftsman as they were with the heavy work of a potter.

The Art of the Glaze

Lanooy’s work was defined by an experimental spirit. He moved through various workshops, including the HAGA pottery and the Royal Leerdam Crystal glass factory, always seeking new ways to manipulate color and light. He became particularly known for his use of running glazes, creating effects with blue titanium and cobalt, as well as experimenting with transparent luster and metallic dripping techniques. These methods allowed him to bring organic life to ceramic surfaces.

His motifs often drew from the natural world found around him. One might find his work decorated with:

• Sea creatures such as fish, crabs, jellyfish, and sea urchins
• Plants and butterflies
• Dragons and birds
• The kingfisher on a branch

In his later years, he established himself as an independent potter in Gouda. Behind his home, he built four kilns and a laboratory to continue his chemical explorations. This independence allowed him to move away from purely figurative decorations toward more abstract designs and complex firing techniques that utilized brown, black, and metallic glazes.

A Lasting Presence

Though he passed away in January 1948 in Epe, the physical traces of his labor remain in many collections. His work is held in the Princessehof Ceramics Museum in Leeuwarden, which has hosted exhibitions dedicated to his career, and at the Kröller-Müller Museum. In the town of Epe, his name remains attached to the local landscape, specifically within a lounge that features one of his stained-glass windows.

Lanooy’s ability to bridge the gap between fine art and decorative craft left a mark on Dutch design. Whether through a single piece of glass or a large series of plates decorated with mushrooms, he remained focused on the technical mastery of his materials. He was a creator who found beauty in the way minerals reacted to fire.