- Walter Gropius was born on 18 May 1883 in Berlin, Germany to a privileged and renowned family.
- He began studying architecture in 1903 at the Technical University in Munich and later transferred to the Technical University in Berlin-Charlottenburg in 1905, only to leave without completing his degree in 1907.
- In 1908, he was employed as an assistant and building supervisor by Peter Behrens’ practice. Behrens was one of the protagonists of an artistic reform movement that sought to establish a new relationship between artistic individuality and industrial mass production. o The experience Gropius gained in Behrens’ office provided him with an important foundation in his future as it prompted him to transform the technical form into an …show more content…
After the defeat of the Germans in the First World War and the fall of the German Empire in 1918, a new Federal Republic was established, allowing an upsurge of experimentation in all the arts that was previously suppressed by the old regime. During this period, Germany was in an economic crisis and tried to recover by the way of social spending. It is highlighted by Honour and Fleming in their book, “A World History of Art”, that many believed the artists could help to bring about a new social condition during this period to battle the increasing unemployment rate. The Weimar Republic commissioned Walter Gropius for the Bauhaus School in hopes of recovering the social condition of Germany during this devastating …show more content…
In his book, “The New Architecture and the Bauhaus”, his rejection of ornamental excess is evident as Gropius insists that buildings should be purified of excess ornamentation and promotes the standardisation as a way of progressing. As the unity of art and technology solidified, there was a subtle, but significant economic justification for the new Architectural movement as Gropius increasingly emphasised the efficiency and economical
- He began studying architecture in 1903 at the Technical University in Munich and later transferred to the Technical University in Berlin-Charlottenburg in 1905, only to leave without completing his degree in 1907.
- In 1908, he was employed as an assistant and building supervisor by Peter Behrens’ practice. Behrens was one of the protagonists of an artistic reform movement that sought to establish a new relationship between artistic individuality and industrial mass production. o The experience Gropius gained in Behrens’ office provided him with an important foundation in his future as it prompted him to transform the technical form into an …show more content…
After the defeat of the Germans in the First World War and the fall of the German Empire in 1918, a new Federal Republic was established, allowing an upsurge of experimentation in all the arts that was previously suppressed by the old regime. During this period, Germany was in an economic crisis and tried to recover by the way of social spending. It is highlighted by Honour and Fleming in their book, “A World History of Art”, that many believed the artists could help to bring about a new social condition during this period to battle the increasing unemployment rate. The Weimar Republic commissioned Walter Gropius for the Bauhaus School in hopes of recovering the social condition of Germany during this devastating …show more content…
In his book, “The New Architecture and the Bauhaus”, his rejection of ornamental excess is evident as Gropius insists that buildings should be purified of excess ornamentation and promotes the standardisation as a way of progressing. As the unity of art and technology solidified, there was a subtle, but significant economic justification for the new Architectural movement as Gropius increasingly emphasised the efficiency and economical