László Moholy-Nagy
Biography
He was called to Weimar in the month Johannes Itten left it, and the school that had begun with breathing exercises turned towards machines.
March 1923
Walter Gropius called him as a master in March 1923[1] — the same month Itten resigned after the differences that had been building for a year.[2] Two of the school's teachers passed each other in the door, and the substitution marks a real turning point for the Weimar Bauhaus: the man who had taught students to fast and breathe was replaced by one who thought in cameras, lamps and machine production.
The preliminary course and the metal workshop, 1923–1928
From 1923 to 1925 he led both the preliminary course every student passed through and the metal workshop, then carried the same two jobs to Dessau from 1925 to 1928.[1] The lamps and tea services that make the Bauhaus recognisable today came out of that metal shop in those years, which is what a change of teacher looks like once it reaches an object.
He took the flat as well as the job, 1923
When Itten left, Moholy-Nagy took over not only his post but his flat — the villa at what was then Wilhelms-Allee 2, today Leibnizallee 2.[3] It is a precise coincidence: the same rooms, the same course, the opposite argument about what a school of design is for.
After five years of teaching, 1928–1946
He left the Bauhaus in 1928 and opened his own studio for typography and exhibition design.[1] Born at Bácsborsód in 1895, he died in Chicago in 1946.[1]
Questions visitors ask
- What is László Moholy-Nagy's connection to the Bauhaus?
- Walter Gropius called him as a master in March 1923,[1] the same month Johannes Itten resigned.[2] Moholy-Nagy took over both the preliminary course and the metal workshop.
- What came out of the Bauhaus metal workshop under Moholy-Nagy?
- The lamps and tea services that make the Bauhaus recognisable today, produced from 1923 to 1925 in Weimar and 1925 to 1928 in Dessau.[1]
- Did Moholy-Nagy live in Johannes Itten's old flat?
- Yes — when Itten left, Moholy-Nagy took over not only his post but his villa flat at what was then Wilhelms-Allee 2, today Leibnizallee 2.[3]
- Can I visit where Moholy-Nagy taught?
- Yes, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, in the van de Velde buildings where he ran the preliminary course and the metal workshop from 1923.
Sources
- László Moholy-Nagy — Bauhaus Kooperation, retrieved 29 August 2026
- Johannes Itten — Bauhaus Kooperation, retrieved 29 August 2026
- Bauhausstätten in Weimar — Stadt Weimar, retrieved 29 August 2026
Notable Works & Achievements
the Bauhaus preliminary course under his direction (1923–1928)
the metal workshop's Weimar output
Connected Places in Weimar
Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 8, 99423 Weimar
He taught the preliminary course and ran the metal workshop in van de Velde's buildings from 1923.[^bauhauskooperation-moholynagy]
Stéphane-Hessel-Platz 1, 99423 Weimar
Work by Moholy-Nagy is in the collection; he ran the metal workshop much of this metalwork came out of.
Park an der Ilm, 99423 Weimar
He led the preliminary course through the years the school taught it in these rooms.
Historical Context
Master from March 1923, and the man who turned the school's teaching towards the machine.
The Bauhaus was founded in Weimar in 1919 and voted out by 1925 — time enough to change what a design school is, and not enough for the town that made it to keep it.
Read more about this period →Quick Facts
1895
1946
Hungarian