“Bauhaus“

2 Pages 506 Words

The Bauhaus (full name staatliches Bauhaus, "state building house") was themost famous school of architecture and design of the 20th century. Foundedby Walter GROPIUS at Weimar, Germany, in 1919, the Bauhaus was originally acombined school of fine art and school of arts and crafts. In his openingmanifesto, Gropius issued a call for the unification of all the creativearts under the leadership of architecture. He declared that a mastery ofmaterials and techniques was essential for all creative design. Studentswere to have two teachers in every course, one an expert craftsman, theother a master artist. The preliminary course, organized by JohannesItten, introduced students to rudiments of design, freed from historicassociations: size, shape, line, color, pattern, texture, rhythm, anddensity. This course has become the foundation for design education inmany countries. It was followed in the curriculum by advanced work withform and materials, including workshops in stone, wood, metal, pottery,glass, painting, and textiles. Industrial design became a major focus atthe Bauhaus, which hoped to improve radically the quality of allmanufactured goods.
Teachers appointed in the early years included Lyonel FEININGER, GerhardMarcks, Johannes Itten, and Adolf Meyer (1919); Georg Muche (1920); PaulKLEE and Oskar SCHLEMMER (1921); Wassily KANDINSKY (1922); and LaszloMOHOLY-NAGY (1923). From the beginning, the striking newness of theconcepts developed at the Bauhaus and the liberal beliefs of many of thepeople associated with it aroused strong opposition.

In 1925 political pressures forced the removal of the school from Weimar toDessau, where Gropius designed a new complex of buildings for it, includingclassrooms, shops, offices, and dwellings for faculty and students. Thisgroup of buildings in Dessau came to symbolize the Bauhaus to the rest ofthe world. Although Gropius repeatedly insisted that it was never hisintention to codify a Bauhaus style or...