The
Staatliches Bauhaus (German:
[ˈʃtaːtlɪçəs ˈbaʊˌhaʊs] (
listen)), commonly known as the
Bauhaus (
German for 'building house'), was a German
art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined
crafts and the
fine arts.
[1] The school became famous for its approach to
design, which attempted to unify individual artistic vision with the
principles of mass production and emphasis on function.[1]
The Bauhaus was founded by architect
Walter Gropius in
Weimar. It was grounded in the idea of creating a
Gesamtkunstwerk ("comprehensive artwork") in which all the arts would eventually be brought together. The Bauhaus style later became one of the most influential currents in modern design,
modernist architecture, and architectural education.
[2] The Bauhaus movement had a profound influence upon subsequent developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design,
industrial design, and
typography.
[3] Staff at the Bauhaus included prominent artists such as
Paul Klee,
Wassily Kandinsky, and
László Moholy-Nagy at various points.
Bauhaus founder
Walter Gropius (1883–1969)
The school existed in three German cities—
Weimar, from 1919 to 1925;
Dessau, from 1925 to 1932; and
Berlin, from 1932 to 1933—under three different architect-directors:
Walter Gropius from 1919 to 1928;
Hannes Meyer from 1928 to 1930; and
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe from 1930 until 1933,
when the school was closed by its own leadership under pressure from the Nazi regime, having been painted as a centre of communist intellectualism.[4] Internationally, former key figures of Bauhaus were successful in the United States and became known as the avant-garde for the International Style.[5]
The changes of venue and leadership resulted in a constant shifting of focus, technique, instructors, and politics. For example, the
pottery shop was discontinued when the school moved from Weimar to Dessau, even though it had been an important revenue source; when Mies van der Rohe took over the school in 1930, he transformed it into a
private school and would not allow any supporters of
Hannes Meyer to attend it.