Art History: Diametrically Opposed

Art History: Diametrically Opposed - the Pre-Raphaelites and the Bauhaus

Join Linda Hart for this two part exploration. Although diametrically opposed in their ideologies, the Pre-Raphaelite and the Bauhaus artists make an interesting comparative pairing as both were formed out of groups of people interested in the arts and having a fresh agenda as to how art should be shaped.

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was formed in 1848 and consisted of Holman Hunt, Millais, Rossetti, Thomas Woolner, Ford Maddox Brown, Burne-Jones and William Morris. Pre-Raphaelite works are brilliantly pictorial in the clarity of their colour and often refer to literary narratives. To our contemporary taste these paintings appear essentially Victorian because of their romantic sensibility. However, William Morris and his acolytes brought the idea of democratic design principles to furniture and furnishing.

The philosophy behind the Bauhaus School (1919-1933) was design in which beauty and usefulness were unified with the intention of creating mass produced utilitarian buildings, furniture and furnishings affordable for everyone. Closed down in 1933 by Hitler, most of the creatives headed to America where the impact of their work was realised. Notable artists include Walter Gropius, Johannes Itten, Lyonel Feininger, Oskar Schlemmer, Paul Klee, Kandinsky and Anni Albers.