The Bauhaus
THE PURSUIT OF A NEW WORLD ORDER
The Bauhaus was more than an art movement; it was an innovative school cultivating a modern perspective on art and society. In contrast to other art movements, the Bauhaus school in Germany moved toward idealism rather than social critique in response to the pressures of war and searched for purity in art and craft. They strove for a new social order in which the artist and the community shared social responsibility, and art functioned for the people.
WHEN & WHERE
c. 1919–1933
Weimar, Dessau, Berlin, Germany
Founded by German architect Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus had a multimedia curriculum and communal philosophy. This group searched for truth and rationality in a modern aesthetic that united art, craft, design, and technology. Stressing craftsmanship and embracing mass-production, they created practical designs for furniture, pottery, and architecture, as well as paintings and sculptures. Characterized by clean lines, simplified forms, and neutral colors, the Bauhaus aesthetic was anti-decorative and prized function over form. Fine art no longer reigned supreme; “be useful or be nothing” was the motto. The curriculum focused on new ideas, never following an historical precedent.
Leadership of the school changed hands many times and in 1933, the Nazis forced the school to close its doors. Many Bauhaus artists moved to the United States, where the style grew and profoundly influenced all types of design, typography, and theater. Bauhaus design can still be seen in buildings in Western Europe, the United States, and Tel Aviv, Israel. —ARR
Selected artists: Anni Albers, Josef Albers, Lyonel Feininger, Walter Gropius, Johannes Itten, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Piet Mondrian