Bauhaus Movement (1919-1933): Founded by Walter Gropius, Bauhaus combined art, craft, and technology. Buildings had flat roofs, open spaces, and large glass windows. A famous example is the Bauhaus School in Dessau.
Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity)
Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity): This style was about practicality and efficiency. Buildings were plain and focused on purpose rather than decoration. Bruno Taut and Erich Mendelsohn were famous architects of this time.
Expressionism
Expressionism: Some architects, like Hans Poelzig, designed dramatic and unusual buildings with organic shapes, like the Berlin Grosses Schauspielhaus (a theater).
Brick Expressionism in Germany (1920-1930)
Brick Expressionism was a unique architectural style that developed in Germany and the Netherlands during the 1920s. It was part of the broader Expressionist movement, but instead of using glass and steel (like Bauhaus), it focused on red and brown brick as the main material. Architects used intricate brickwork, pointed shapes, and sculptural facades to create dramatic effects.
Traditionalism in German Architecture (1920s-1930s)
Traditionalism in German Architecture (1920s-1930s)
Traditionalism in German architecture during the 1920s and 1930s was a reaction against the radical modernist movements like Bauhaus and Expressionism. While modernists favored minimalism and functionalism, traditionalists sought to preserve regional heritage, classical styles, and familiar materials.
Neues Bauen
Neues Bauen (New Building) in Germany (1920s-1930s, Social Housing Focus)
Neues Bauen ("New Building") was a modernist architectural movement in Germany during the 1920s and early 1930s. It focused on functional, affordable, and socially progressive architecture, particularly for worker housing and public buildings. The style was influenced by Bauhaus, Constructivism, and Rationalism, and it played a major role in the development of modern urban planning.
Rationalism in German Architecture
Rationalism in German Architecture (Late 1920s-1930s, Italian Influence)
Rationalism was an architectural movement that emerged in Italy in the 1920s and influenced Germany in the late 1920s and early 1930s. It was characterized by simplicity, geometric order, and a focus on functionality, similar to Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) but with a stricter approach to symmetry and proportion.
Unlike Constructivism or Expressionism, Rationalist architecture aimed to create logical, efficient, and monumental buildings, often for government or institutional purposes.
Art Deco in Germany
Art Deco in Germany (1920s-1930s, Decorative Modernism)
Art Deco was an international architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and became popular through the 1930s. It combined luxury, modernity, and craftsmanship, often featuring geometric patterns, rich materials, and stylized ornamentation. While France and the United States were the main centers of Art Deco, Germany also had notable Art Deco buildings, mainly in commercial and entertainment architecture.
Ophelia
Ophelia is a painting by British artist Sir John Everett Millais, completed between 1851 and 1852. It depicts Ophelia, a character from Hamlet, singing before she drowns in a river in Denmark. [more]
The Music Lesson
The Music Lesson or Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman by Jan Vermeer, is a painting of young female pupil receiving the titular music lesson. [more]
