Soon after his return to Germany at the end of 1921, Kandinsky received an invitation to become a teacher at the Bauhaus in Weimar. This was an experimental school-studio, where for the training of masters of applied a new system of education. Its founder, Walter Gropius, preached the idea of synthesis of arts, considering that the painting, architecture and sculpture should be combined together to create a “building the future”. In the manifesto 1919, he stated “the ultimate objective of all educational activity is the building! ... Between the artist and craftsman needn’t to be principal differences. Let's create a new workshop of craftsmen without scattering on classes of arrogance, striving to build a high wall between craftsmen and artists...”
New ideas were close Kandinsky, and he gladly accepts the invitation. In 1922, he headed the Bauhaus workshop of painting. For organization of the training process Gropius gathered in the school the most modern and original artists. By the time of Kandinsky, there had already worked his friends Paul Klee, L.Feininger, as well as O. Schlemmer, G. Marcks, L. Schreyer and G. Muche. The training is conducted in parallel in the art and production workshops - this was the decision of Gropius. All students at first listen to a general introductory course, which reveals the theoretical fundamentals of the art, its formal elements. Then the students familiarize with more detailed materials, methods, tools. On the following courses they study the individual materials (wood, stone, glass, textile) in the creative workshops, and in the end all knowledge are combined in such courses as “Design” and “Construction and engineering skills”.
Kandinsky in the Bauhaus read a few courses: «Analytical drawing», the main objective of which is to teach students to penetrate into the essence of things and understand abstraction; «the Basics of artistic design», which are, in fact, the theory of the design; and the most famous of his course “Colour”. In this course, Kandinsky teaches theory of color from the history of development of various color systems to modern psychology of perception of color. In his training course Kandinsky realizes a radically new approach to teaching about the color, based on the analysis of individual elements - a point, a line, a plane, and examining their relationships. The result of this analysis will be his work ”Point and line to plane”. The creativity Kandinsky’s Weimar period (1923-1925) is under the influence of ideas of suprematism and constructivism, which reign in this time in the Bauhaus. His main work in those years - a monumental “Composition VIII”. But to this period belong such a chamber, almost intimate picture as “Small dream in the red”, written in a gift to his wife.
In 1925 power of Weimar stoped subsidizing the Bauhaus because of attacks and criticism of right-wing political parties. The school moved to Dessau, active young city near Leipzig. Here for the school was built a new building, designed by Gropius. This building is considered to be one of the brightest examples of architecture of functionalism. Gradually program of school reoriented towards the practical needs of the construction. Also the content of the training courses is changed. Just in Dessau starts to develop a particular style of Bauhaus, which was manifested from the trend towards greater utilitarianizm and machine functionality. This functionalism, a pragmatic approach to art leads to conflict within the school. Supporters of aesthetics, Faininger, Klee, Kandinsky are under the fire of criticism for his approach to learning. Klee and Faininger go out, Kandinsky more and more withdraws from the teaching. In the same 1925, he creates two important paintings: “In blue” and “Yellow - red – blue”. The second painting marks the appearance of a new “cold romance”, which has become the main trend in his works of the Bauhaus’ period.
Despite attempts by the management to make the ideology of the school of adequate political situation, it hasn’t success. Since 1931 a large-scale campaign of right-wing circles begins against Bauhaus, successfully concluded in 1932, when the school was closed, declaring it "a hotbed of bolshevism in culture". Family the Kandinsky’s makes a difficult decision - to leave Germany. They go to Paris, the city which will be the final stage of the creative and the way of life of Kandinsky. For some time the heads of the Bauhaus prolong its existence as a private educational institution in Berlin, but in 1933 the Nazis finally close the school. Many teachers migrate to the United States. In 1937 in Chicago was founded "the New Bauhaus" (Director was L. Mohoy-Nagy), and Gropius and Breuer organized at Harvard University's School of Design.
The program of the Bauhaus had a huge impact on the development of art education and European art. Architects and designers of future generations continued to study the collections of scientific and theoretical articles teachers of the school. The Museum-archive of Bauhaus was founded in 1960, for which, in 1979, was built a special building in Berlin, projected by Gropius. At the present time in Dessau operates the design centre “Bauhaus-Dessau”.
Bauhaus
Soon after his return to Germany at the end of 1921, Kandinsky received an invitation to become a teacher at the Bauhaus in Weimar. This was an experimental school-studio, where for the training of masters of applied a new system of education. Its founder, Walter Gropius, preached the idea of synthesis of arts, considering that the painting, architecture and sculpture should be combined together to create a “building the future”. In the manifesto 1919, he stated “the ultimate objective of all educational activity is the building! ... Between the artist and craftsman needn’t to be principal differences. Let's create a new workshop of craftsmen without scattering on classes of arrogance, striving to build a high wall between craftsmen and artists...”
New ideas were close Kandinsky, and he gladly accepts the invitation. In 1922, he headed the Bauhaus workshop of painting. For organization of the training process Gropius gathered in the school the most modern and original artists. By the time of Kandinsky, there had already worked his friends Paul Klee, L.Feininger, as well as O. Schlemmer, G. Marcks, L. Schreyer and G. Muche. The training is conducted in parallel in the art and production workshops - this was the decision of Gropius. All students at first listen to a general introductory course, which reveals the theoretical fundamentals of the art, its formal elements. Then the students familiarize with more detailed materials, methods, tools. On the following courses they study the individual materials (wood, stone, glass, textile) in the creative workshops, and in the end all knowledge are combined in such courses as “Design” and “Construction and engineering skills”.
Kandinsky in the Bauhaus read a few courses: «Analytical drawing», the main objective of which is to teach students to penetrate into the essence of things and understand abstraction; «the Basics of artistic design», which are, in fact, the theory of the design; and the most famous of his course “Colour”. In this course, Kandinsky teaches theory of color from the history of development of various color systems to modern psychology of perception of color. In his training course Kandinsky realizes a radically new approach to teaching about the color, based on the analysis of individual elements - a point, a line, a plane, and examining their relationships. The result of this analysis will be his work ”Point and line to plane”. The creativity Kandinsky’s Weimar period (1923-1925) is under the influence of ideas of suprematism and constructivism, which reign in this time in the Bauhaus. His main work in those years - a monumental “Composition VIII”. But to this period belong such a chamber, almost intimate picture as “Small dream in the red”, written in a gift to his wife.
In 1925 power of Weimar stoped subsidizing the Bauhaus because of attacks and criticism of right-wing political parties. The school moved to Dessau, active young city near Leipzig. Here for the school was built a new building, designed by Gropius. This building is considered to be one of the brightest examples of architecture of functionalism. Gradually program of school reoriented towards the practical needs of the construction. Also the content of the training courses is changed. Just in Dessau starts to develop a particular style of Bauhaus, which was manifested from the trend towards greater utilitarianizm and machine functionality. This functionalism, a pragmatic approach to art leads to conflict within the school. Supporters of aesthetics, Faininger, Klee, Kandinsky are under the fire of criticism for his approach to learning. Klee and Faininger go out, Kandinsky more and more withdraws from the teaching. In the same 1925, he creates two important paintings: “In blue” and “Yellow - red – blue”. The second painting marks the appearance of a new “cold romance”, which has become the main trend in his works of the Bauhaus’ period.
Despite attempts by the management to make the ideology of the school of adequate political situation, it hasn’t success. Since 1931 a large-scale campaign of right-wing circles begins against Bauhaus, successfully concluded in 1932, when the school was closed, declaring it "a hotbed of bolshevism in culture". Family the Kandinsky’s makes a difficult decision - to leave Germany. They go to Paris, the city which will be the final stage of the creative and the way of life of Kandinsky. For some time the heads of the Bauhaus prolong its existence as a private educational institution in Berlin, but in 1933 the Nazis finally close the school. Many teachers migrate to the United States. In 1937 in Chicago was founded "the New Bauhaus" (Director was L. Mohoy-Nagy), and Gropius and Breuer organized at Harvard University's School of Design.
The program of the Bauhaus had a huge impact on the development of art education and European art. Architects and designers of future generations continued to study the collections of scientific and theoretical articles teachers of the school. The Museum-archive of Bauhaus was founded in 1960, for which, in 1979, was built a special building in Berlin, projected by Gropius. At the present time in Dessau operates the design centre “Bauhaus-Dessau”.
