Session 5: The Bauhaus and German Modernism

Blog task 5:

• Take one of the artists or designers mentioned in the presentation and research their life and visual output.
• Collate a minimum of 10 pieces of their work and write a short biography (300-500 words).​

JOHANNES ITTEN
​(1888 -1957)

Komposition , 1962

Zweiklang, 1964

Space Composition, I 1944

Space Composition, II 1944

The Meeting, 1916

Vogelthema, 1995

Group of Houses in Spring, 1916

Moonlit Landscape, 1958

Cerchi, 1963

Plumen, 1957

Johannes Itten was born at Südern-Lindern, Switzerland on November 11th 1888. He was the son of a teacher that had influenced him to study as a primary school teacher in Bern dueing 1908-1909. After the brief study course, he had gone onto studying mathematics and science, he trained at Geneva École des Beaux-Arts in Genf where he studies under his instructor Adolf Hölzel in 1913. This is where he got his diploma to start teaching secondary schools. Dueing this time of study he had began to learn more about the concepts of psychoanalysis which started his research to learn more about colour and painting theory.  
 
During his time of teaching he would start to encourage his students to be individuals and let them make mistakes without making them feel as though they would need to fix them. He took many trips abroad to different countries which helped him to discover his love for artwork and working out colour theory. This was a new beginning for Itten as it would uncover that he was much happier as a painter. After his studying with Adolf Hölzel was the year he moved to Vienna in 1916 as he was greatly inspired by the music that surrounded him during his time. Johannes Itten had managed to create a circle of friends who later would introduce him to Walter Gropius. Gropius would then invited Johannes Itten to teach at the Bauhause in 1919 making it the first invatations that was extended to anyone.

From 1919 to 1923 he taught in Weimar he developed a universal doctrine in design which he taught as a preliminary course at the Bauhause. During the course he taught the students on the concept of colour, compositions and materials.
 
Johannes Itten had a great devotion towards a cult which began his dismissal from the Bauhause. After his dismissal he started up a school for painting, photography, architecture and printmaking in Berlin, 1926 where he continued to teach about colour and its principles. In 1932 he began to start teaching at the Krefeld School of Textile Design till 1938 in which he later moved to the Netherlands and became a director of the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zurich (1938). In the years that followed he devoted all his time to teach and worked extremely hard to achieve this. JohannesItten later retired in 1955 so he would be able to devote himself intensively towards his paintings and other work.
 
He later wrote two books “Art and Colour” (1961) and “My Preliminary Course at Bauhause” on form and design. Darmstadt Polytechnic, in 1965 awarded an honorary decorate to Johannes Itten. He received “Netherlands Sikkens Art Prize” In 1966, he later represented Switzerland at the 33rd Venice Biennale.
 
Joahness Itten died 25th March 1967, Zurich.

Biography

Artwork - ArtNet

Artwork - WikiArt

Johannes Itten - The Art Story

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SESSION NOTES