Deutscher Werkbund German artistic and production association

Advertisements
Poster for Deutsche Werkbund Exhibition in Breslau
for Deutsche Werkbund Exhibition in Breslau

The organisation, Deutscher Werkbund was founded in Munich (1907) to improve products’ design through the joint efforts of artists, craftsmen, and manufacturers: its leading lights were Behrens, Theodor Fischer, Hermann Muthesius and Fritz Schumacher. They also borrowed concepts from the Austrian Jugendstil movement, the Dutch De Stijl group and Russian constructivism. In the public mind, the movement quickly became linked to the Bauhaus. Bauhaus designers and artisans have loudly denounced the preceding century’s architecture and design and rejected historical styles as representative of undemocratic, authoritarian societies.

Deutscher Werkbund organised a major exhibition in Cologne (1914) with Gropius, Taut and van de Velde. Still, a debate arose in which Muthesius argued for industrial design. At the same time, van de Velde spoke for the creative artist/craftsman. After the 1914–18 war, the Werkbund moved away from the Arts-and-Crafts’ redolent position towards the Modern Movement, as the journal Die Form (Design) published in 1925–34 shows. 

A housing exhibition was held in Stuttgart, the Weissenhofsiedlung (1927), under the direction of Mies van der Rohe, which included works by Le Corbusier, Oud and Stam: further exhibitions were held in Paris (1930) and Berlin (1931), but it was disbanded (1934).

Mies at the Weissenhof Estate

Revived after the 1939–45 war, it published Werk und Zeit in 1952 to promote a modernist ideology. The Werkbund has inspired other organisations in Austria (1912), Switzerland (1913), Sweden (1913) and England (Design and Industries Association of 1915).

Sources

Curl, J., & Wilson, S. (2015). Deutscher Werkbund. In A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. : Oxford University Press. Retrieved 8 Feb. 2021

Diefendorf, J. M. (1993). In the Wake of War: The Reconstruction of German Cities After World War II. United States: Oxford University Press, USA.

More on Design Associations

  • Gruppo 9999 Italian Architecture and Design Group

    Gruppo 9999 Italian Architecture and Design Group

    Gruppo 9999 was a group of radical architects founded in Florence in 1968 by Giorgio Birelli, Carlo Caldini, Fabrizio Fiumi and Paolo Galli. Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Italian Association for Industrial Design (ADI)

    Italian Association for Industrial Design (ADI)

    The Association of Industrial Design (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale) (ADI) Since 1956, has brought together designers, companies, researchers, teachers, critics, journalists around the themes of Italian industrial design. It is the lead organisation of the development of industrial design as a cultural and economic phenomenon in Italy.Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Institut d’Esthétique Industrielle: Champion of Good Design

    Institut d’Esthétique Industrielle: Champion of Good Design

    The Institut d’Esthétique Industrielle, founded in 1949, is a crucial institution in French design, promoting good design and fostering innovation. It emphasizes functionality, sustainability, and aesthetic value in industrial production, contributing to the rich tapestry of French design and enhancing user experience and quality of life.Read More →


    Learn More →


  • The GAkhN: Russia’s Beacon of Artistic Sciences

    The GAkhN: Russia’s Beacon of Artistic Sciences

    The GAkhN, active from 1921 to 1934, was a crucial chapter in Russia’s intellectual and artistic history, fostering artistic culture and innovation. It served as an academic hub, fostering innovative thinking, and shaping public understanding of the arts.Read More →


    Learn More →


  • IDSA professional organisation of American industrial designers

    IDSA professional organisation of American industrial designers

    IDSA’s mission is to provide a platform that both elevates public awareness of design and strengthens the connection between design and business. One of the primary ways we accomplish this is through our vast portfolio of awards programs, which recognize designers for their achievements and contributions to the industrial design profession.Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Novembergruppe (1919) – German Radical Artists Group

    Novembergruppe (1919) – German Radical Artists Group

    Novembergruppe 1918 was a German artists and architects’ group established in 1918 in Berlin. It was described as radical in its use of new expressive techniques and rejection of earlier forms of expression. Members included Hans Eisler, Walter Gropius, Hugo Häring, Ludwig Hilberseimer, Hans and Wassili Luckhardt, Erich Mendelsohn, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Bruno…


    Learn More →


  • Le National Moblier, the institution for the French Decorative Arts

    Le National Moblier, the institution for the French Decorative Arts

    The Mobilier National is an institution attached to the Ministry of Culture that maintains, creates and distributes a unique collection of over 130,000 pieces of furniture and textiles. Its mission is to ensure the conservation and restoration of its collections, perpetuate and transmit exceptional know-how, and promote French decorative arts.Read More →


    Learn More →


  • AIGA – American Institute of Graphic Arts – What is it?

    AIGA – American Institute of Graphic Arts – What is it?

    The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is a group of professional designers who aim to show how important design is to industry, society, and our future as a whole. It was started in 1914 by a small group of graphic designers, printers, publishers, and illustrators. Since then, it has developed into a national network…


    Learn More →


  • American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen (AUDUC)

    American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen (AUDUC)

    The American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen (AUDAC) was an organisation of designers and artists engaged in designing for individual needs, commercial organisations, industrial firms, heads of stores and manufacturing establishments, and all other persons interested in the industrial, decorative, and applied arts. Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Deutscher Werkbund German artistic and production association

    Deutscher Werkbund German artistic and production association

    The organisation, Deutscher Werkund was founded in Munich (1907) to improve products’ design through the joint efforts of artists, craftsmen, and manufacturers: its leading lights were Behrens, Theodor Fischer, Hermann Muthesius and Fritz Schumacher.Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Studio Alchimia Italian design collaborative

    Studio Alchimia Italian design collaborative

    Studio Alchimia Italian design collaborative located in Milan. Alessandro Guerriero (b. 1943), an architect, created Studio Alchimia in 1976 as a gallery to show experimental work that was not limited by industrial production. Read More →


    Learn More →


  • The Friends of Finnish Handicraft – Folk and Textile Art

    The Friends of Finnish Handicraft – Folk and Textile Art

    The Friends of Finnish Handicraft aims to document and promote typically Finnish textiles. The association was founded in 1879 by Fanny Churberg and inspired by the Swedish Friends of Handicraft association, founded five years earlier. The association has always worked closely with artists and architects and, from an early date, cooperated with, e.g. Jac Ahrenberg. The association collected and published…


    Learn More →


Derby Silver Company – Encyclopedia of Design

Derby Silver Company was an American silversmith located in Derby, Connecticut. It was founded in 1873 and specialised in silverplated hollow-ware. U.S. Patent No. 15,642, June 26, 1888, registered by Watson J. Miller and Henry Berry for M & B sterling trademark to be used on forks, spoons, tea sets, brushes, mirrors and pitchers.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.