Bauhaus. Updated Edition

by Bauhaus-archiv Berlin, Magdalena Droste

In a fleeting 14-year period between two world wars, Germany’s Bauhaus school of art and design changed the face of modernity. With utopian ideas for the future, the school developed a pioneering fusion of fine art, craftsmanship, and technology, which they applied across media and practices from film to theater, and sculpture to ceramics. This best-selling reference work is made in collaboration with the Bauhaus-Archiv/Museum für Gestaltung in Berlin, the world’s largest collection on the history of the Bauhaus. Some 575 illustrations including architectural plans, studies, photographs, sketches, and models record not only the realized works but also the leading principles and personalities of this idealistic creative community through its three successive locations in Weimar, Dessau, and Berlin. From informal shots of group gymnastics to drawings guided by Paul Klee, from extensive architectural plans to an infinitely sleek ashtray by Marianne Brandt, the collection brims with the colors, materials, and geometries that made up the Bauhaus vision of a “total” work of art. This is a defining account of Bauhaus' energy and rigor, not only as a trailblazing movement in Modernism but also as a paradigm of art education, where creative expression and cutting-edge ideas led to simultaneously functional and beautiful creations. The handy edition features artists Josef Albers, Marianne Brandt, Walter Gropius, Gertrud Grunow, Paul Klee, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Lilly Reich, and many more. About the series Bibliotheca Universalis — Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe!

Genres: History, Design, Architecture, Art, Nonfiction

549 pages, Hardcover

Published January 4, 2019

Reviews

[Frank Shi · Rating 4 out of 5]

i came by this book purely by chance during the centenarian celebration of the bauhaus in 2019, when i was waiting for a friend in the lobby of a certain bank in downtown toronto. having absolutely no exposure to art or art history, i was immediately hooked upon reading the introduction. i was particularly amused by the sentence in the introduction, "the outbreak of the first world war was rapturously welcomed in germany with almost unanimous enthusiasm. volunteers rushed to sign up... while the intellectuals hoped for spiritual renewal, often in the spirit of nietzsche, broad sections of the population shared the view of their kaiser, wilhelm ii, that germany would now have the chance to prove her world superiority once and for all".
having once studied the world wars in high school, i am aware that history textbooks in general tend to devote fewer pages to the world wars' effects on culture and art than social, political and economic consequences. curiosity got the better of me and i bought a copy upon returning home.
having no knowledge in art, i view this book primarily as a history of a remarkable educational institution which, for most of its existence, had survived through financial hardship. what i enjoyed the most throughout the book was reading about the visionaries who made bauhaus prosper against financial and political challenges. among the directors of bauhaus from 1919 to 1933, the chapters on hannes meyer was perhaps my favourite.
the extensive illustrations in the book was another highlight. in particular, some explanations of the art courses at the bauhaus showed that, at least at bauhaus, "art" was decomposed and abstracted into the most basic elements such as form, colour, and material. to someone who has almost zero education in visual arts, this was highly interesting because it made complex creations of art somehow more tangible. what i liked the most is the high levels of abstraction common in multiple courses.
not surprisingly, there is limited mention of the underlying political atmosphere at the time, but from the end of hannes meyers' bauhaus, anyone who studied the history of weimar germany will get some short reminders of the turbulent years in germany before 1933. indeed, to some extent, bauhaus serves as a viewpoint for the cultural agenda of the national socialists after their election victories.

[Lysergius · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compendius look at the Bauhaus in all its manifestations, in Weimar, Dessau and Berlin from 1919 to 1933. Lavishly illustrated this volume details the struggles both artistic and political experienced by the various directors of the school. Most illuminating.

[Karen Van Der Heijden · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5e ster.

[Villa Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended by Coco Brun