Michael Siebenbrodt – författare

Das Bauhaus war eine der bedeutsamsten und folgenreichstenkulturellen Erscheinungen des 20. Jahrhunderts. Es wurde alseine Hochschule für Kunst und Gestaltung 1919 in Weimarvon Walter Gropius gegründet. Seine Wirkungsstätten warenWeimar 1919-1925, Dessau 1925-1932 und Berlin 1932/1933.Ihre Gestaltungslehren finden bis heute Beachtung inrenommierten Architektur- und Kunstausbildungsstätten aberauch im allgemeinbildenden Kunsterziehungsunterricht.Produkte des Bauhauses – so die berühmten Stahlrohrmöbelvon Marcel Breuer – avancierten zu wohlfeil angebotenenDesignklassikern. Bauten des Bauhauses habenArchitekturgeschichte geschrieben und gehören heute zumUNESCO-Weltkulturerbe.Dieses Buch vermittelt einen Überblick über dieGeschichte des Bauhauses und legt besonderen Wert auf eineumfangreiche Bilddokumentation, die Zusammenhängeund Entwicklungen nachvollziehbar macht und deminteressierten Leser über die Sprache der Dinge auch einenoptischen Zugang zum Bauhaus ermöglicht.

Le Bauhaus est une des émergences culturelles les plus importantes et conséquentes du siècle. Walter Gropius fonda cet institut de design en 1919, à Weimar. L’école fut effective à Weimar, Dessau et Berlin. Les enseignements du Bauhaus en design sont aujourd’hui encore respectée dans les écoles de design et d’architecture. Les produits du Bauhaus sont devenus des standards du design et les immeubles du Bauhaus sont entrés dans l’histoire et au patrimoine culturel mondial de l’UNESCO. Ce livre, richement illustré et documenté, offre une vue globale de l’histoire du Bauhaus et projette un nouvel éclairage sur son évolution et sa connexion aux autres mouvements, rendant le Bauhaus plus compréhensible au lecteur.

The Bauhaus movement (meaning the “house of building”) developed in three German cities - it began in Weimar between 1919 and 1925, then continued in Dessau, from 1925 to 1932, and finally ended in 1932-1933 in Berlin. Three leaders presided over the growth of the movement: Walter Gropius, from 1919 to 1928, Hannes Meyer, from 1928 to 1930, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, from 1930 to 1933. Founded by Gropius in the rather conservative city of Weimar, the new capital of Germany, which had just been defeated by the other European nations in the First World War, the movement became a flamboyant response to this humiliation. Combining new styles in architecture, design, and painting, the Bauhaus aspired to be an expression of a generational utopia, striving to free artists facing a society that remained conservative in spite of the revolutionary efforts of the post-war period.Using the most modern materials, the Bauhaus was born out of the precepts of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement, introducing new forms, inspired by the most ordinary of objects, into everyday life. The shuttering of the center in Berlin by the Nazis in 1933 did not put an end to the movement, since many of its members chose the path of exile and established themselves in the United States. Although they all went in different directions artistically, their work shared the same origin. The most influential among the Bauhaus artists were Anni Albers, Josef Albers, Marianne Brandt, Marcel Breuer, Lyonel Feininger, Ludwig Hilberseimer, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandisky, and Lothar Schreyer. Through a series of beautiful reproductions, this work provides an overview of the Bauhaus era, including the history, influence, and major figures of this revolutionary movement, which turned everyday life into art.

Christian Dell (1893–1974), silversmith, Bauhaus master craftsman, and head of the metal workshop of the Frankfurter Kunstschule [Frankfurt Art School], is one of the lesser-known designers of the 20th century. Yet his diverse oeuvre and his impact on design—from the 1930s to the present—deserves to be reappraised. This publication provides a first comprehensive overview of Dell’s work and career, including his training in Hanau, teaching in Weimar and Frankfurt am Main, and contacts to the lighting industry. One of Dell’s iconic lamp designs is the KAISER idell™, an office lamp which is back in production today. Moreover, he was an inspiration to numerous students, whose works are introduced here in more detail. Conceptual sketches, series products, and exquisite individual objects in a wide range of materials are also presented—for Dell’s early work with new types of plastic would go on to inform consumer tastes for decades to come. An exciting monograph on a significant, visionary, and hitherto unrecognised designer of the 20th century.Text in German.