Bauhaus: Five things you need to know about the influential German design movement
Google Doodle is marking the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Bauhaus school in Weimar
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A century has passed since the Bauhaus school was founded in Germany, leaving a durable mark on arts, design and architecture.
To mark the milestone Google commissioned a special, animated Doodle to mark the anniversary of the movement, to be unveiled on Friday.
Here are five things you should know about the Bauhaus, 100 years after its beginnings:
1. The original Bauhaus school moved across three cities in Germany
The Bauhaus's story begins in Weimar, where architect Walter Gropius founded the school in 1919.
It remained there until 1925, when it moved to Dessau.
The school's final location was Berlin, where it moved in 1932 and remained opened only until 1933.
2. Its goal was to bridge the gap between art and technical craft
The Bauhaus began as the merger of two existing institutions: the Weimar Academy of Arts and the Weimar School of Arts and Crafts, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
One of the main goals was to erase the distinction between applied arts and fine arts, by teaching students to combine practicality and artful meaning.
3. Some of its lesser known trailblazers are female artists
Painters Paul Klee and Wassily Kandkinsky, sculptor and designer Oskar Schlemmer, and painter and photographer László Moholy-Nagy are among the best known members of the Bauhaus school.
But female artists also made valuable, groundbreaking contributions, although their names are not cited as often.
Industrial designer Marianne Brandt, weavers Gunta Stölzl and Benita Koch-Otte, textile artist Otti Berger, and designer Alma Siedhoff-Buscher are among the many women who wrote part of the Bauhaus's history.
4. The Nazi regime forced the Bauhaus to shut down
The Bauhaus school, then based in Berlin, officially dissolved in April 1933 under pressure from the Nazis.
It had previously been forced out of Dessau after the Nazis had become the dominant political force in the city.
5. The Bauhaus's influence can still be felt across the world today
While the school closed down in the 1930s, its curriculum kept being taught in arts school around the world.
Moholy-Nagy notably created the New Bauhaus in Chicago in 1937. The school, which remains open, has since been renamed the IIT Institute of Design.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments