Truus Schröder-Schräder
Encyclopedia

Biography

Truus Schröder-Schräder, was born in Deventer
Deventer
Deventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...

 in the east of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 in 1889. Her father owned a textile factory and her mother died when she was four. Her father remarried two years later and Truus did not get along with her stepmother. Truus was sent to a convent boarding school at Amersfoort
Amersfoort
Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...

, her family was Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

. After leaving school she was trained as a pharmacist. In 1911 she would marry a lawyer by the name of Frits Schröder, who was eleven her elder, but Truus and Frits came from a similar prosperous Catholic background Truus had three children. a boy and two girls; where they lived in a spacious apartment in Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...

 on the first floor of the large building in Biltstraat where Mr.Schröder
Schröder
Schröder is a German surname which has been held by many notable people, including:* Ernst Schröder , German logician and mathematician* Christian Mathias Schröder , German politician...

 had his offices Truus marriage to Frits turned to be a confortation of two worlds where both conflicted ideas about social status
Social status
In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....

, independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....

, and the upbringing of children. Truus's husband let her change one room of their home to her own liking and that is where Truus Schroder and Gerrit
Gerrit
Gerrit is a Dutch male name meaning "brave with the spear", the Dutch and Frisian form of Gerard. Gerrit may refer to:* Gerrit Achterberg , Dutch poet* Gerrit Komrij , Dutch poet* Gerrit Rietveld , Dutch architect...

 Rietveld
Gerrit Rietveld
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld was a Dutch furniture designer and architect. One of the principal members of the Dutch artistic movement called De Stijl, Rietveld is famous for his Red and Blue Chair and for the Rietveld Schröder House, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.-Biography:Rietveld was born in...

 partnership started. Truus room was designed by Rietveld
Gerrit Rietveld
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld was a Dutch furniture designer and architect. One of the principal members of the Dutch artistic movement called De Stijl, Rietveld is famous for his Red and Blue Chair and for the Rietveld Schröder House, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.-Biography:Rietveld was born in...

 and it was something very plain to her friends in that it did not show the social status of Truus, but she was very content with the room In her mid 30's, Truus became a widow and had to raise her children on her own. While she still lived in Biltstraat where she had lived with her husband, Truus found it necessary to leave her home in Biltstraat and look for a more convenient house Truus was a woman that had very definite ideas in what she wanted.
Truus had always been interested in the arts and in 1924, she commissioned the Rietveld Schröder House. The architect that would work for the building of this house was Gerrit Rietveld
Gerrit Rietveld
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld was a Dutch furniture designer and architect. One of the principal members of the Dutch artistic movement called De Stijl, Rietveld is famous for his Red and Blue Chair and for the Rietveld Schröder House, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.-Biography:Rietveld was born in...

. While Truus had no experience or training as an architect or designer she had a clear vision in the way that she wanted to live her life and her surroundings Truus along with Gerrit Rietveld designed much of the equipment and built in furniture for the house together. Truus was credited as joint designer for the Rietveld Schröder House
Rietveld Schröder House
The Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht was built in 1924 by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld for Mrs. Truus Schröder-Schräder and her three children. She commissioned the house to be designed preferably without walls. Rietveld worked side by side with Schröder-Schräder to create the house...

, but this fact has been long forgotten after Rietveld
Gerrit Rietveld
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld was a Dutch furniture designer and architect. One of the principal members of the Dutch artistic movement called De Stijl, Rietveld is famous for his Red and Blue Chair and for the Rietveld Schröder House, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.-Biography:Rietveld was born in...

 became well-known as an architect. This partnership between Truus and Gerrit
Gerrit
Gerrit is a Dutch male name meaning "brave with the spear", the Dutch and Frisian form of Gerard. Gerrit may refer to:* Gerrit Achterberg , Dutch poet* Gerrit Komrij , Dutch poet* Gerrit Rietveld , Dutch architect...

 proved that both of them worked well together. Truus and Gerrit
Gerrit
Gerrit is a Dutch male name meaning "brave with the spear", the Dutch and Frisian form of Gerard. Gerrit may refer to:* Gerrit Achterberg , Dutch poet* Gerrit Komrij , Dutch poet* Gerrit Rietveld , Dutch architect...

 became lovers and he lived with Truus at the Rietveld Schröder House
Rietveld Schröder House
The Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht was built in 1924 by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld for Mrs. Truus Schröder-Schräder and her three children. She commissioned the house to be designed preferably without walls. Rietveld worked side by side with Schröder-Schräder to create the house...

 towards the end of his life.

For Truus Schröder, the Rietveld Schröder House
Rietveld Schröder House
The Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht was built in 1924 by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld for Mrs. Truus Schröder-Schräder and her three children. She commissioned the house to be designed preferably without walls. Rietveld worked side by side with Schröder-Schräder to create the house...

 was a declaration of how an independent modern woman intended to live her life. She was a woman of an extremely determined character who took delight in provoking her more conventional contemporaries. Truus was a very content with her life at the Rietveld Schröder House
Rietveld Schröder House
The Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht was built in 1924 by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld for Mrs. Truus Schröder-Schräder and her three children. She commissioned the house to be designed preferably without walls. Rietveld worked side by side with Schröder-Schräder to create the house...

, where she lived there for more than 60 years. In 1982, Lenneke Buller and Frank Den Oudsten recorded an interview with Truus Schröder. The interview was conducted on two separate days: May 12th and May 14th, where she would talk about her life in the Rietveld Schröder House
Rietveld Schröder House
The Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht was built in 1924 by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld for Mrs. Truus Schröder-Schräder and her three children. She commissioned the house to be designed preferably without walls. Rietveld worked side by side with Schröder-Schräder to create the house...

 with Rietveld
Gerrit Rietveld
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld was a Dutch furniture designer and architect. One of the principal members of the Dutch artistic movement called De Stijl, Rietveld is famous for his Red and Blue Chair and for the Rietveld Schröder House, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.-Biography:Rietveld was born in...

. In this interview Truus talked about the modernist ideas that interested her where she said, "I hardly met any people who had a feeling for what was modern. It was through my sister that ideas came from the outside" Truus had also been very much part of the restoration of the Rietveld Schröder House
Rietveld Schröder House
The Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht was built in 1924 by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld for Mrs. Truus Schröder-Schräder and her three children. She commissioned the house to be designed preferably without walls. Rietveld worked side by side with Schröder-Schräder to create the house...

, where she would pick the architect, Bertus Mulder, who had worked with Gerrit Rietveld
Gerrit Rietveld
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld was a Dutch furniture designer and architect. One of the principal members of the Dutch artistic movement called De Stijl, Rietveld is famous for his Red and Blue Chair and for the Rietveld Schröder House, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.-Biography:Rietveld was born in...

. Truus was an independent woman who had her own ideas on what should be done with her house. She loved her home in Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...

 and she remained living there until her death in 1985 at the age of 95. She enjoyed her home and the way that Truus phrased it was, "the luxury of frugality
Frugality
Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent or economical in the use of consumable resources such as food, time or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance....

"
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