Arts and Crafts Movement (04:06)

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Many Bauhaus-inspired buildings, furniture, and objects are commonplace today. In 1919 Walter Gropius started the Bauhaus. John Ruskin urged a return to traditional craftsmanship.

Bauhaus Movement (03:27)

Bauhaus invoked the spirit of the Middle Ages. The work was a fusion of academic art and craftsmanship. The teaching of architecture and design went in a new direction.

Johannes Itten (02:04)

Expressionism strongly influenced the early stages of the Bauhaus Movement. Johannes Itten rejected rationalism. Itten taught the Bauhaus preparatory class. Intuition was an integral part of his method.

Wassily Kandinsky and Bauhaus Style (01:59)

Kandinsky is considered the greatest exponent of abstract painting. He joined the Bauhaus in 1922. He worked with shape and color and had beliefs similar to Itten's.

Paul Klee (00:53)

Klee, like Kandinsky, exerted an expressionist influence. Practical work was introduced at Bauhaus as a basis for education. This concept would be accepted in modern day education.

Beyond Expressionism (02:45)

Dutch painter Von Duisberg discovered the "De Still" artistic movement. Its focus was design. Only horizontal and vertical lines were permitted. Abstract expressionists strived for objectivity in art.

Bauhaus and Functionalism (04:13)

After dismissing Itten, Walter Gropius brought in Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, who believed in functionalism. He rejected quaint, artisan touches. Beauty and functionality were synonymous.

Changes in Bauhaus Focus (03:20)

By 1925, the Bauhaus was an economic failure, but its style became a symbol of modernity. Gropius' vision in the Bauhaus manifesto became a reality. Bauhaus focus turned to architecture.

Bauhaus Industrial Style (03:37)

In 1927 all Bauhaus classes were geared towards architecture. Work methods changed to eliminate individual creativity or artistic touches. Designers embraced systematic planning.

Bauhaus and National Socialism (03:37)

The Bauhaus moved for the second time and functioned under difficult conditions. The Nazis outlawed the Bauhaus, so many of its brilliant minds emigrated from Germany to America.