“The ultimate aim of all artistic activity is building!

”
Walter Gropius

This critical essay will initially reflect on the events that led to the erection of
The Bauhaus, the purpose of its curriculum, and the development of its design
focus from Weimar to the Dessau. Through examples of products that
emerged from The Bauhaus, during the Weimar period i.e. “Cows in the
landscape” a wall-hang, The African chair, and during the Dessau period,
Marianne Brandt’s silver tea infuser, and the Barcelona Chair. This essay will
in addition, critically assess the German social, political and economical
influences, as well as the influence of the Seccession, Werkstatte and
Werkbund on The Bauhaus. This essay will furthermore use an example of
contemporary design to illustrate the impact that The Bauhaus in the Dessau
period had on modern design.

The Industrial Revolution first emerged in Great Britain, and swiftly swept
through the rest of the world (Pritchard, 1968: 76), this resulted in the mass
production of many products, and expansion of the economies (Pritchard,
1968). The nostalgia of this did not last long, and along with all the innovation
and production that the industrial revolution had to offer, came atrocious
working conditions, and child slavery (Victorian Web, 2008). It was not long
before society began to react negatively to the revolution, as quality of the
products began to suffer (Goines, 1986), this later led to the birth of the Arts
and Crafts movement (Pritchard, 1968: 76). Although the Arts and Crafts
movement rebelled against the mechanic like nature of the industrial
revolution, in Europe it embraced technology (Pritchard, 1968: 76).

On approach to the end of the nineteenth century, Europe was in need of a

revolution in art and design, of which became prevalent in 1890, this
revolution, which lasted until 1920 was known as the Secession and was most
prevalent in Austria and Germany (National Gallery of Austria, 2013). During
the Secession in Germany, a lot of expressive art was created, the
conservative German government, attempted to control the art exhibited to
the public, associations were quickly formed, where artists culminated to

1
exhibit their work, free from the patronage policies and conservative state run
exhibitions (The Jewish Museum, 2013). Conservatives rebelled against the
Secession, and condemned its cosmopolitan ideologies and exhibition of
foreign arts, as they believed it was submersing German culture with alien
influences (The Jewish Museum, 2013).

Located in Vienna, Austria, where the Seccession was most Prominent, the
Wiener Werkstatte was established in 1903, only to form an extension of the
Secession (Brandstatter, 2003: 14). The textiles and prints of the Weiner
Werkstatte were among some of the most famous to arise out of early 20 th
century art and design (Volker, 2004: 2). The Wiener Werkstatte aimed at
bringing the contact between the public, designer and craftsman closer, in
order to have a better understanding when designing simple house old
objects whilst keeping in mind, forms of simplicity, functionality, and colours
limited to black and white (Brandstatter, 2003: 9).

Meanwhile this sparked another movement, the Deutcher Werkbund was

formed in 1907, it served to raise the quality of goods manufactured in
Germany above international products, through joint efforts of artists,
craftsman and industry (Pritchard, 1968: 78). The Werkbund also intended to
create a cultural identity for Germany (Umbach, 2002). These goods became
a symbol of “new” German design, which saw exports to the majority of the
civilized world (Schwartz, 1998). Walter Gropius was a patron in the
Werkbund, whom was regarded as one of the forerunning men (Schwartz,
1998). Walter Gropius, the son of an architect and nephew to the principle of
the Arts and Crafts school in Berlin, went on to study architecture (Pritchard,
1968: 78).

In 1918, Walter Gropius under advisement of Henry van der Velde was
appointed head of both the Weimar Arts and Crafts School and the Weimar
Art Academy (Pritchard, 1968), and in 1919, Walter Gropius merged the two
schools, and founded The Bauhaus (The Art Story, 2012). The Bauhaus
emerged a long with the general desire to re-unite art and manufacture (The
Art Story, 2012), it also emerged in a very difficult time for the German

2
population, as Germany had been decimated by the defeat of the first World
War, and was suffering from large debts to France and England (Goines,
1986). The Weimar republic replaced the imperial rule of Germany as Berlin
was submerged in an attempted revolution, after the Kaiser went into exile
(Kaplan, 1995: 257). Walter Gropius along with his Werkbund involvement,
set out to restore handcraft and quality back into art and design through the
Bauhaus curriculum (bauhaus online, 2013a), somewhat imitating the
ideologies of William Morris who spearheaded the transition from the
Industrial Revolution to the Arts and Crafts era (Pritchard, 1968: 80). The
Bauhaus was situated in Weimar, a city heavily influenced by the Arts and
Crafts and expressionism (bauhaus online, 2013a). The work that emerged
from the early Bauhaus days in Weimar was largely influenced by
expressionism, mostly due to the basic course lecturer Johannes Itten
(bauhaus online, 2013a). The Bauhaus along with expressionism adopted an
emphasis on medievalism, and craft handwork, this meant that lectures where
called masters, and projects where hand-craft orientated (Kaplan, 1995: 259).

Weaving was a popular art form to come out of the Bauhaus in its early days
(fig 1), “Cows in the landscape” a wall-hang, was woven by a student whilst
on holiday in 1920 (Stolzl, 2009: 58). The wall hang depicts cows in the
country side, with mountains in the background, and a vibrant use of different
colours, evident in the hand work, a high degree of skill, dexterity and
understanding was required (Gunta Stolzl, 2012a). At this point the Bauhaus
had no material for projects, and students were required to purchase their
own, or, in the case of this student, were referred to old ladies in Weimar to
beg for leftovers such as fabrics, lace and veils (Stolzl, 2009: 58).

The African chair (fig. 2) designed buy Marcel Breuer and Gunta Stolzl, is a
credible example of the Bauhaus philosophy (Gunta Stolzl, 2012b). This chair,
was intended to be unique and different to other contemporary European
furniture designs in the time frame (Bergdoll, 2009: 100). The chair was
constructed with wood and fabricated with weaved patterns, the seat base
and frame were made of wood and appear to have been shape with a chisel
(Bergdoll, 2009: 100). The seat and back are inlayed with a colourful woven

3
textile, and in terms of the early Bauhaus philosophy, the African chair
embodies the spirit and epitomizes the early Bauhaus unlike any other piece
(Gunta Stolzl, 2012b).

The year of 1923 is of huge significance to the history and philosophies of the
Bauhaus; the biggest of which was that Walter Gropius thought that the
Bauhaus needed a shift in its focus and direction (bauhaus online, 2013a).
The theories and vision of a Dutch artist, and member of the De Stijl group
Theo van Doesburg, was the Bauhaus director’s biggest influence, which
were further reinforced by the societal notion of constructivism and demand
for a more technologically orientated world (bauhaus online, 2013a).
However, in 1922 at the end of expressionism, when Walter Gropius initially
began contemplating an adjustment to the Bauhaus focus, it was not
welcomed by some of the masters, more specifically Johannes Itten
(Pritchard, 1968: 81). As Walter Gropius strengthened the constructivist side,
Itten was left with no other choice but to resign (Pritchard, 1968: 81). Back in
1923, there were increasing tensions between the Social Democratic
government and the Peoples Party, this was due to the Bauhaus
philosophies, support and welcoming nature of international design (Pritchard,
1968: 82). The Weimar Government called for an account of the Bauhaus
work’s, which led to the other significant event, it was established that an
exhibition in August of 1923 was to be staged in order for the German public,
and world to see the works of the Bauhaus (Kaplan, 1995: 259).

The Bauhaus exhibition of 1923 caused a lot of stir, both in favour of the
school’s principles, and in the exact opposite manner (Pritchard, 1968: 82). By
now Gropius had been the schools director for three and a half years, and
amongst all the repercussions of WW1, a weak economy and the prevailing
poverty in Germany, the Bauhaus was creating something of lasting
importance, wrote Siegfried Gideon a Swiss architectural historian who
attended the 1923 exhibition (Pritchard, 1968: 82).

4
In 1924, Gropius wrote a report to the Bauhaus members “Breviary for the
Bauhaus Members” and in it, he wrote that further development of the
Bauhaus was needed; this is where he introduced the theme “Art and
Technology, a new unity” (Kaplan, 1995: 259). Gropius wanted art to be the
means of social change, art rooms needed to be like scientific laboratories,
where artists alike could experiment and create prototypes suitable for mass-
production, this would effectively distribute art to the masses, and thereby
effecting social change (Kaplan, 1995: 260). Gropius therefore reformed the
Bauhaus into a program that embraced technology and emphasized its use
for society (The Art Story, 2012).

By now political tensions were soaring, which led to the Bauhaus being
caught up in a storm of political crossfire, politicians launched “salvos” against
the school, and in the 1924 elections, a right wing party took the majority, the
Bauhaus budget was immediately cut in half, and contracts were terminated
(bauhaus online, 2013a). In an attempt to hold his ground, Walter Gropius and
the remaining masters resigned in December 1925 (bauhaus online, 2013a).
Various other city’s made themselves known that they were willing to support
the Bauhaus, more specifically the Socialist mayor of Dessau offered superior
facilities, finance and a new building (Pritchard, 1968: 82). Gropius graciously
accepted and immediately moved the Bauhaus to Dessau(bauhaus online,
2013a). The new building was of his design and specifications, and consisted
of a residential wing, large enough to accommodate staff and students, this
section however was only ready for occupation by the end of 1926 (Pritchard,
1968: 82). Dessau provided the right environment for the Bauhaus’ new focus,
as the city was modeled around mass-production, and the opening of the
Bauhaus in Dessau sparked very little commotion, if anything it personified
the school on its new focus to design for the masses (Bauhaus Online,
2013b). The move into the new building was an extraordinary feet, especially
when taking into account of the German struggling economy, and
inexperienced democracy (Pritchard, 1968: 83).

At the same time designers and industry were feeling constricted, as there
was very little or no standardization of terms and concepts through the

5
industry, this became more apparent when similar products made by different
manufactures were incompatible, or their parts were not interchangeable
(Kaplan, 1995: 275). Walter Gropius realized that there were difficulties in the
relationship of art and industry, specifically in dimensional and typical norms,
and sought out to define them in his teachings (Lane, 2006: 242).

The close relationship between the Bauhaus students and Dessau industry
manifested, and both parties quickly began reaping the benefits (Kaplan,
1995: 276). Functionalism in the teachings at the Bauhaus became of great
importance to Gropius, and evidently, some designs prior to the move from
Weimar to Dessau possess more of a functionalist quality focus (The Art
Story, 2012).

Marianne Brandt designed at teapot with infuser (Fig. 3), as a student at the
Bauhaus and although it was designed in 1924, whilst still in Weimar, it was
only manufactured a couple of years later in Dessau (The Metropolitan
Museum of Modern Art, 2013). The sculpted geometric forms of this teapot
reflect the influence that her teacher, Walter Gropius had on her (British
Museum, 2013). Marianne’s teapot with infuser embodies a collaboration of
geometric forms, such as a cylinder, hemisphere and circle (The Metropolitan
Museum of Modern Art, 2013). The silver body, with an ebony handle serves
as the teapots only decorative elements (The Metropolitan Museum of
Modern Art, 2013), Although entirely hand made, this teapot emulates an
industrial aesthetic (British Museum, 2013). The functionalist qualities of this
product are evident in the built-in strainer, non-drip spout, and heat resistant
ebony handle (British Museum, 2013). Like many other functional products to
emerge from the Bauhaus in Dessau, this design is simplistic and attractive
(The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, 2013).

In 1928, Walter Gropius stepped down as the schools director, and

recommended Swiss Architect, and head of the Bauhaus’ architecture
department Hannes Meyer to take position as the director of the Bauhaus
(Bauhaus Online, 2013b). Gropius stated that the Bauhaus was well founded,
and was gaining influence, and he wished to do more work without the official

6
duties (Pritchard, 1968: 84). Meyer was an active communist, and attempted
to intertwine his Marxist ideologies through student organizations and his
programs (The Art Story, 2012).

The Barcelona Chair (Fig. 4) designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
illustrates the development and success of the Bauhaus’ latter philosophy, the
chair is the most iconic product of van der Rohe (Mies Society, 2012). This
chair embalms a sense of serenity of line and refinement of proportions, the
chair is supported on either side by two flat steel bars, from the side the back
of the chair through to the seat and then front feat form the shape of an S
(The Museum of Modern Art, 2013). Mies’ had the ability to bestow grace into
even the most of monotonous substances (Mies Society, 2012). This product
was made from steel and leather, and crafted with impeccable quality; the
chair was specifically design for the German pavilion at the 1929 exhibition in
Barcelona (The Museum of Modern Art, 2013). This Bauhaus design was so
successful it was immediately put into production and has not been stopped to
this day(The Museum of Modern Art, 2013).

The Bauhaus still continued to gather popularity, however critics of Meyer’s

Marxism became more and more prominent, this led to his dismissal as
Bauhaus director in 1930 (The Art Story, 2012). In 1932 the Nazi’s were
elected into power, and in the same year Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was
appointed as the Bauhaus’ newest director, he restored confidence and saved
the Bauhaus (Pritchard, 1968: 85). Mies was an advocate of Functionalism,
he tried to remove the politics that historically the Bauhaus suffered from but
because the Nazi’s came to power, the school was ordered to be shut down
indefinitely, in 1933 it did however briefly re-open in Berlin but only for a
couple of months (The Art Story, 2012).

Most of the students and highly talented staff of the Bauhaus immigrated, and
ended up in the United States, America saw their potential, which allowed
their ideas to flourish, and helped to kick start the Modern movement (South
Island School, 2009). They were all empirical in spreading the philosophy of

7
the Bauhaus, and particularly refashioning the philosophy into one that suited
a modern, market-orientated culture (The Art Story, 2012).

The Legacy of the Bauhaus remains long after its closer in 1933, and its
residual impact is still evident in contemporary design, the OTT VANMOOF
No. 3 bicycle (Fig. 5) designed by Sjeord Smit is an industrial looking bicycle,
yet is a refined and clean design (Antony Eagle, 2011). MOOFS bike has a
unique aluminum design, with a tubular frame, and straight lines, it
additionally incorporates two solar power lamps in the front and back of the
bike (Planet Novell, 2011). The bike features white wall tires and leather grips
and saddle, these functional features along with its geometric frame, make
this design a modern and simplistic one(Antony Eagle, 2011).

The literature given, allows us to make connections and draw particular

conclusions, we saw how the fall of the Industrial Revolution, and the rise of
the Arts and Crafts movement along with expressionism, the Secession,
Werkstatte and Werkbund provided the foundation for the Bauhaus’
philosophy. The illustrations of the wall hang “Cows in the Landscape”,
“African Chair”, shows us the decorative, and handcraft oriented nature of the
Bauhaus in the Weimar period. It is clear that the Bauhaus was caught up in
political turmoil, however, as bad as it was, it allowed for the Bauhaus to
restructure its philosophies, and situate itself more strategically to better its
purpose as evident in the “teapot with infuser”, and “Barcelona Chair”.
Moreover, through the illustration of Sjoerd Smit’s VANMOOF No.3, we saw
the use of simplistic and functional thoughts in his design. Clean lines, simple
geometrics and industrial aesthetic revived the Bauhaus’ latter philosophies.
It is therefore clear that the DNA of the Bauhaus is still strongly evident in
contemporary design, meaning that the legacy of the Bauhaus is yet to be
forgotten.

8
List of illustrations

Figure 1: Wall-Hang

Unknown
Cows in the Landscape, 1920
Paint, Cotton, Wool and Mohair
30 x 50 cm
Private Collection

Image from: Guntastolzl, 2004. Bauhaus Weimer 1919-1925. Wall Hangings

and Carpets. [Online]. Available: http://www.guntastolzl.org/Works/Bauhaus-
Weimar-1919-1925/Wall-Hangings-and-
Carpets/1482723_fJxzBz#!i=74247126&k=sbCmRPz. [9 April 2013].

9
 Figure 2: African Chair

Marcel Breuer
African Chair, 1921
Wood, paint, hemp, wool, cotton and silk
179.4 x 65 x 97.1 (HxWxD)
Berlin

Image from:
Guntastolzl, 2004. Works: Bauhaus Weimer 1919-1925. Chairs with Marcel
Breuer. [Online]. Available: http://www.guntastolzl.org/Works/Bauhaus-
Weimar-1919-1925/Chairs-with-Marcel-
Breuer/1456128_gnKL6T#!i=74248012&k=P9n46KJ. [9 April 2013].

10
 Figure 3: Bauhaus Tea Infuser

Marrianne Brandt
Tea Infuser and Strainer, 1924
Silver and Ebony
New York

Image from:
The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. 2013. Marianne Brandt. [Online].
Available: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/2000.63a-c. [14 April
2013].

11
 Figure 4: Bauhaus Chair

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Barcelona Chair, 1929
Steel and Leather
United States of America

Image from:
Mies Society. 2012. The Story: Barcelona Chair. [Online]. Available:
http://www.miessociety.org/legacy/projects/barcelona-chair/#1. [14 April
2013].

12
 Figure 5: MOOFS Bike

Sjoerd Smit
VANMOOFS No. 3, 2011
Aluminium, leather, plastic and rubber
Amsterdam

Image From:
Antony Eagle. 2011. Bike. [Online]. Available:
http://antonyeagle.org/tag/vanmoof/. [14 April 2013].

13
List of References

Antony Eagle. 2011. Bike. [Online].

Available:http://antonyeagle.org/tag/vanmoof/. [14 April 2013].

Bauhaus Online. 2013b. Bauhaus Dessau. [Online]. Available: http://bauhaus-

online.de/en/atlas/das-bauhaus/idee/bauhaus-dessau. [14 April 2013].

bauhaus online. 2013a. Bauhaus Weimer. [Online]. Available: http://bauhaus-

online.de/en/atlas/das-bauhaus/idee/bauhaus-weimar. [14 April 2013].

Bergdoll, B. 2009. Bauhau 1919-1933: Workshops for Modernity (Original

ed.). New York: The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Brandstatter, C. 2003. Wonderful Wiener Werkstatte (First ed.). (D. H. Wilson,

Ed.) London: Thames and Hudson.

British Museum. 2013. Explore/Highlights Marianne Brandt. [Online].

Available:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_mla/m/
marianne_brandt,_a_silver_tea-.aspx. [14 April 2013].

Goines, D. L. 1986. The Bauhaus isnt our House. [Online]. Available:

http://goldberg.berkeley.edu/courses/S06/IEOR-170-S06/docs/bauhaus.pdf.
[14 April 2013].

Gunta Stolzl. 2012b. Bauhaus Weimar 1919-1925. [Online]. Available:

http://www.guntastolzl.org/Works/Bauhaus-Weimar-1919-1925/Chairs-with-
Marcel-Breuer/1456128_gnKL6T#!i=74248012&k=P9n46KJ. [14 April 2013].

Gunta Stolzl. 2012a. Bauhaus Weimer 1919-1925. . [Online]. Available:

http://www.guntastolzl.org/Works/Bauhaus-Weimar-1919-1925/Wall-
Hangings-and-Carpets/1482723_fJxzBz#!i=74247126&k=sbCmRPz. [14 April
2013].

Kaplan, W. 1995. Designing Modernity: The Arts of Reform and Persuasion

1885-1945 (Original ed.). London: Thames and Hudson.

14
Lane, B. M. (Ed.). 2006. Housing and Dwelling: Perspectives on Modern
Domestic Architecture. New York: Routledge.

Mies Society. 2012. The Story: Barcelona Chair. [Online]. Available:

http://www.miessociety.org/legacy/projects/barcelona-chair/#1. [14 April
2013].

National Gallery of Austria. 2013. Secession. [Online]. Available:

http://nga.gov.au/exhibitions/secession/. [14 April 2013].

Planet Novell. 2011. Save the Environment and lookout for green gadgets.
[Online]. Available: http://www.planetnovell.org/2011/03/. [14 April 2013].

Pritchard, J. 1968. Bauhaus. Gropius, The Bauhaus and The Future , 117
(510): 75-94.

Schwartz, F. J. 1998. The Werkbund: Design Theory & Mass Culture before
the First World War. Chicago Journals , 5 (2): 102-105.

South Island School. 2009. Departments: Bauhaus 1919-1933. [Online].

Available:
http://web.sis.edu.hk/departments/dt/d&t/index/KS3/Briefhaus/Bauhaus.html.
[14 April 2013].

Stolzl, G. 2009. Gunta Stolzl: Bauhaus Master (Illustrated ed.). New York: The
Museum of Modern Art.

The Art Story. 2012. Movement: Bauhaus. [Online]. Available:

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-bauhaus.htm. [14 April 2013].

The Jewish Museum. 2013. Berlin Metropolis: Jews and the New Culture.
[Online]. Available:
http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/home/content/exhibitions/special/berlin/berli
n_secession.html. [14 April 2013].

15
The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. 2013. Marianne Brandt. [Online].
Available: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/2000.63a-c. [14 April
2013].

The Museum of Modern Art. 2013. The Collection: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
[Online]. Available:
http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=4369. [14 April 2013].

Umbach, M. 2002. The Vernacular International: Hiemat, Modernism and the

Global Market in Early Twentieth-Century Germany. National Identities , 4 (1):
44-68.

Victorian Web. 2008. Child Labour.[Online]. Available:

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/hist8.html. [14 April 2013].

Volker, A. 2004. Textiles of the Wiener Werkstatter (Original ed.). London:

Thames and Hudson.

16