A school of art, design and architecture founded in Germany in 1919 to 1933

The most natural meaning for its name (related to the German verb for "build") is Architecture House. Bauhaus style is characterized by its severely economic, geometric design and by its respect for materials. Bauhaus style became one of the most influential currents in Modernist architecture.

The foundation of the Bauhaus occurred at a time of crisis and turmoil in Europe as a whole and particularly in Germany. Its establishment resulted from a confluence of a diverse set of political, social, educational and artistic shifts in the first two decades of the twentieth century.

Bauhaus School

The Bauhaus school was created when Walter Gropius was appointed head of two art schools in Weimar and united them in one. He coined the term Bauhaus as an inversion of 'Hausbau' - house construction.

Teaching at the school concentrated on functional craftsmanship and students were encouraged to design with mass-produced goods in mind.

Enormously controversial and unpopular with right wingers in Weimar , the school moved in 1925 to Dessau .

The Bauhaus moved again to Berlin in 1932 and was closed by the Nazis in 1933. The school had some illustrious names among it's teachers, including Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, Wassily Kandinsky, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Marcel Breuer. Its influence in design of architecture, furniture, typography and weaving has lasted to this day - the look of the modern environment is almost unthinkable without it.

The Bauhaus art school is having undoubtedly the biggest influence for modern design in architecture and interior design in modern times.

The Bauhaus art school existed in four different cities (Weimar from 1919 to 1925, Dessau from 1925 to 1932, Berlin from 1932 to 1933) and Chicago from 1937-1938, under four different architect-directors (Walter Gropius from 1919 to 1928, Hannes Meyer from 1928 to 1930, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe from 1930 to 1933 and László Moholy-Nagy from 1937-1938). The changes of venue and leadership resulted in a constant shifting of focus, technique, instructors, and politics.

When the school moved from Weimar to Dessau, for instance, although it had been an important revenue source, the pottery shop was discontinued. When Mies 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.
 
Art Works By Bauhaus Artists

• Anni Albers (born Analise Fleischman, married Josef Albers) (German, 1899-1994), Design for Wall Hanging, 1926, gouache and pencil on paper, 14 x 11 1/2 inches (35.6 x 29.2 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Herbert Bayer (American, born Germany, 1900-1985), Bauhaus Dessau, 1926, letterpress, 8 1/2 x 5 7/8 inches (21.6 x 14.9 cm), Printer: Bauhausdruck, Museumof Modern Art, NY.
• Johannes Itten (Swiss, 1888-1967), Space Composition, I (Raum Komposition I), 1944, oil on canvas, 25 5/8 x 19 3/4 inches (65.1 x 50.1 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Johannes Itten (Swiss, 1888-1967), Space Composition, II (Raum Komposition II), 1944, oil on canvas, 25 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (65.1 x 49.7 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Josef Hartwig (German, 1880-1955), manufactured by Bauhaus, Weimar, Chess Set, 1924, pear wood, natural and stained black, smallest: 7/8 x 7/8 x 7/8 inches (2.2 x 2.2 x 2.2 cm), largest: 1 7/8 x 1 1/8 x 1 1/8 inches (4.8 x 2.9 x 2.9 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• László Moholy-Nagy (American, born Hungary, 1895-1946; in Germany 1921-34; U.S.A. 1937-46), Yellow Circle, 1921, oil on canvas, 53 1/8 x 45 inches (135 x 114.3 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• László Moholy-Nagy, Composition A.XX, 1924, oil on canvas, 135.5 x 115 cm, Georges Pompidou Center, Paris.
• László Moholy-Nagy, K VII, 1922, oil on canvas, 115.3 x 135.9 cm, Tate Gallery, London.
• László Moholy-Nagy, Q 1 Suprematistic, 1923, oil on canvas, 37 1/2 x 37 1/2 inches (95.2 x 95.2 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• László Moholy-Nagy, Space Modulator L3, 1936, oil on perforated zinc and composition board, with glass-headed pins, 17 1/4 x 19 1/8 inches (43.8 x 48.6 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• László Moholy-Nagy, Telephone Picture EM 2 (Telephonbild), 1922, porcelain enamel on steel, 18 3/4 x 11 7/8 inches (47.5 x 30.1 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• László Moholy-Nagy, Untitled (Positive), c. 1922-1924, gelatin silver print from photogram negative, 23.7 x 17.8 cm (9 5/16 x 7 inches), National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
• Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (German, 1886-1969), Friedrichstrasse Skyscraper, Berlin-Mitte, Germany, a project in 1921
• Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona Chair, 1929, chrome-plated steel and black leather, manufactured by Knoll International.
• Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, designer, "MR" Armchair, 1927, chrome-plated steel and painted caning, 31 1/2 x 22 x 37 inches (80 x 55.9 x 94 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
• Lux Feininger (American, born Germany, 1910-), Clemens Röseler, c. 1928, gelatin silver print, 11.3 x 8.9 cm (4 7/16 x 3 1/2 inches), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
• Lyonel Feininger (American, worked in Germany, 1871-1956), publisher and printer: Staatliches Bauhaus, Weimar, Kathedrale (Cathedral), 1919, woodcut, composition: 12 x 7 1/2 inches (30.5 x 19.0 cm); sheet 16 x 12 inches (41.0 x 30.5 cm),
• Lyonel Feininger, Hopfgarten, 1920, oil on canvas, 32 1/4 x 25 inches, Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
• Marianne Brandt (German, 1893-1983), manufactured by Bauhaus Metal Workshop, Germany, Ashtray, 1924, brass and nickel-plated metal, height 2 3/4 (7 cm), diameter 3 1/8 inches (7.9 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Oskar Schlemmer (German, 1888-1943), Head, 1928, oil and graphite on canvas, 15 7/8 x 11 3/4 inches (40.4 x 29.8 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Oskar Schlemmer, Bauhaus Stairway, 1932, oil on canvas, 63 7/8 x 45 inches (162.3 x 114.3 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Paul Klee (Swiss, born Germany, 1879-1940), Birds Making Scientific Experiments in Sex, pen and black ink, signed and dated 1915 and numbered 28 on the mount, 7 6/16 x 4 5/8 inches (18.8 x 11.9 cm), Michael C. Carlos Museum.
• Paul Klee, A Young Lady's Adventure, 1922, watercolor on paper, 43.8 x 32.1 cm, Tate Gallery, London.
• Paul Klee, Actor's Mask (Schauspielermaske), 1924, oil on canvas, mounted on board, 14 1/2 x 13 3/8 inches (36.7 x 33.8 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Paul Klee, Around the Fish (Um den Fisch), 1926, oil on canvas, 18 3/8 x 25 1/8 inches (46.7 x 63.8 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Paul Klee, Castle Garden (Schlossgarten), 1931, oil on canvas, 26 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches (67.2 x 54.9 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Paul Klee, Cat and Bird (Katze und Vogel), 1928, oil and ink on gessoed canvas, mounted on wood, 15 x 21 inches (38.1 x 53.2 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Paul Klee, Comedy, 1921, watercolor and oil on paper, 30.5 x 45.4 cm, Tate Gallery, London.
• Paul Klee, Dying Plants (Sterbende Pflanzen), 1922, watercolor on paper, 17 7/8 x 12 inches (45.5 x 30.5 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Paul Klee, Emblematic Lady, 1930, drawing with ink and watercolor on paper and cardboard, 49 x 33 cm, Nationalgalerie, Berlin.
• Paul Klee, Fire at Evening (Feuer Abends), 1929, oil on cardboard, 13 3/8 x 13 1/4 inches (33.8 x 33.4 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Paul Klee, Historical Place, 1927, watercolor and ink on paper on card on board, 35.5 x 48.7 cm, Tate Gallery, London.
• Paul Klee, Howling Dog, 1928, oil on canvas, 17 1/2 x 22 3/8 inches, Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
• Paul Klee, Mask of Fear (Maske Furcht), 1932, oil on burlap, 39 1/2 x 22 1/2 inches (100.4 x 57.1 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Paul Klee, Pastoral (Pastorale), 1927, tempera on canvas, mounted on wood, 27 1/4 x 20 5/8 inches (69.3 x 52.4 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Paul Klee, Pfeil im Garten (Arrow in the Garden), 1929, oil and tempera on canvas, 70 x 50.2 cm, Georges Pompidou Center, Paris.
• Paul Klee, Pflanzenwachstum (Growth), 1921, oil on cardboard, 54 x 40 cm, Georges Pompidou Center, Paris.
• Paul Klee, Portrait of an Acrobat (Artistenbildnis), 1927, oil and collage on cardboard over wood with painted plaster border, 24 7/8 x 15 3/4 inches (63.2 x 40 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Paul Klee, Rhythmisches (In Rhythm), 1930, oil on woven jute, 69.6 x 50.5 cm, Georges Pompidou Center, Paris.
• Paul Klee, Temple Gardens, 1920, gouache and traces of ink on paper, 7 1/4 x 10 1/4 inches (18.4 x 26.7 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
• Paul Klee, The Mocker Mocked (Oder der verspottete Spötter), 1930, oil on canvas, 17 x 20 5/8 inches (43.2 x 52.4 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Paul Klee, They're Biting, 1920, drawing and oil on paper, 31.1 x 23.5 cm, Tate Gallery, London.
• Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866-1944), In the Gray, 1919, oil on canvas, 129 x 176 cm, Georges Pompidou Center, Paris.
• Wassily Kandinsky, Kleine Welten, IV, 1922, color lithograph, 10 1/4 x 10 inches (26.6 x 25.5 cm), Cincinnati Art Museum, OH.
• Wassily Kandinsky, Lightly Touching (Leicht Berührt), 1931, oil on canvas, 27 5/8 x 19 1/4 inches (69.9 x 48.8 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Wassily Kandinsky, Soft Pressure, 1931, oil on plywood, 39 1/4 x 39 inches (99.5 x 99 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.
• Wassily Kandinsky, Swinging, 1925, oil on board, 70.5 x 50.2 cm, Tate Gallery, London.
• Willi Baumeister (German, 1889-1955), Mauerbild mit Kreis (Mural with Circle), 1923, oil on canvas, with cardboard painted in oil mounted on canvas, 121 x 72 x 3.3 cm, Georges Pompidou Center, Paris.