Johannes Itten

Weimar was the cradle of the Bauhaus, the revolutionary school of modern art, design, and architecture. In the aftermath of World War I, architect Walter Gropius merged the existing Grand-Ducal Saxon Art School and Arts and Crafts School to found the Staatliches Bauhaus in Weimar in 1919. Gropius's Bauhaus brought together painters, designers, and craftsmen with the radical aim of uniting fine arts with functional design. During its Weimar years (1919–1925), the Bauhaus faculty included celebrated figures such as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Lyonel Feininger, and Johannes Itten, who pioneered a curriculum blending avant-garde art theory with hands-on workshops. Students and masters collaborated on innovative works ranging from ceramics and furniture to graphic design and architecture. Notable projects of this era include the Haus am Horn (a model modern house built for the 1923 Bauhaus Exhibition in Weimar), which demonstrated the Bauhaus principles of form following function. Despite its creativity, the Bauhaus faced political hostility from conservative factions in Thuringia. Funding was cut after 1924 amid right-wing pressure. In 1925 the Bauhaus moved to Dessau, ending the Weimar chapter. Though brief, the Weimar period of the Bauhaus fundamentally influenced 20th-century art and design, making Weimar a pilgrimage site for modernist heritage (now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site).