Bauhaus Movement

The Staatliches Bauhaus, commonly known as the Bauhaus, was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts. 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. 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. The school existed in three German cities: Weimar (1919-1925), Dessau (1925-1932), and Berlin (1932-1933) under three different architect-directors: Walter Gropius, Hannes Meyer, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The school was closed in 1933 under pressure from the Nazi regime. Staff included prominent artists such as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Gunta Stölzl, and László Moholy-Nagy. The Bauhaus movement profoundly influenced subsequent developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design, and typography.