Bauhaus

THE BAUHAUS (1919-1933)

Reconciling industry and craftsmanship, rethinking forms, such was the spearhead of the Bauhaus, a pioneering school founded in Germany by Walter Gropius in 1919 A veritable laboratory of experimentation, this place of learning served as a model for many schools of the 20th century, it broke down the boundaries between art and craft across Europe The resulting design features sleek, minimalist lines with an industrial-scale aesthetic

The Weimar Bauhaus (1919-1925) was founded by Walter Gropius, based on a general philosophy influenced by expressionism and art nouveau

Much more than a place of education, the Bauhaus has a new conception of technique and art Its primary motto being "Art and technique, a new unity"

The name of the Bauhaus refers to the corporations of builders of the Middle Ages, the baütes The initial desire was to celebrate an ancient know-how, although a modernist orientation quickly appeared

In the aftermath of the First World War, the new generation felt the duty to rebuild everything, rejuvenate itself and build a new humanism It was in this context that the Bauhaus was born, which was first and foremost interested in design and architecture Teaching is delivered by great painters and sculptors The avant-gardes of the time, which revolutionize practices, are found at the Bauhaus Other classic teachings in the field of craftsmanship and design are taught there, such as ceramics, tableware, weaving, wall painting and graphic design

Around 1922, Walter Gropius will make the Bauhaus take a new turn more oriented towards industry The vocation of the school will be to create an industrial art, furniture that can be mass produced

In 1925, in a tense political context, the new Weimar administration withdrew its financial support and the Bauhaus moved to Dessau The students moved into a glass and steel building designed by Gropius who would run the school until 1928 Hannes Maier will take over as director for two years, then Mies Van der Rohe will be appointed to this position in 1930 He will make the Bauhaus take a more marked orientation towards architecture

In 1932, the Nazis close the school of Dessau which will settle in Berlin in the form of a private institute which will close its doors in 1933

Ideology

The other name of the Bauhaus was the higher school of design of the forms One seeks there a unity between art and technique, towards a will to go against the cleavage between the liberal arts and the applied arts To reconcile the craftsmanship and industry at the service of modernity Education was to provide technical knowledge of craftsmanship and then industry, as well as historical, aesthetic and philosophical knowledge

Among the great teachers of the Bauhaus we can cite Moholy-Nagy who taught sculpture and space, Kandinsky the interaction of forms or Josef Albers who delivered courses on materials All are "masters of form", this one this being the basis of the teaching that had to be followed before being able to integrate a more specific workshop

From a political point of view, the Bauhaus tends towards a communist model, consistent with the desire to abolish the barriers between art and craftsmanship.

There were, however, differences of ideology between the teachers Walter Gropius believed that the Bauhaus had to respond to orders and have an outward-looking activity, which could assimilate the school to a company. But the Bauhaus will all the same establish relations with the industrialists

When the Bauhaus in Berlin closed, the ideology of the movement will still be disseminated to the four corners of the world Although he only lived 14 years, this school profoundly marked the entire 20th century