The Founders of the Werkbund

This book is the first, in any language, to provide a comprehensive study of the founders of the German Werkbund: the twelve artists and twelve firms represented at the establishment of the organization in 1907. Although these twenty-four were not always in agreement, they were committed to a common cause: strongly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, their aim was to inspire good design and craftsmanship in mass-produced goods and architecture. Together they put forward a dialogue about the nature of German culture, both visual and intellectual, and about the character of German design. They were representatives of the regional centers of Germanic culture – in the cities of Berlin, Munich, Dresden, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Darmstadt, Weimar, and Vienna – and of craft-based industries throughout Central Europe. The twenty-four reflected the distribution of their common, German-speaking, socio-economic identities: they were a microcosm of the society they hoped to reform. In shedding light on these highly influential individuals, who were the forerunners of the Modern Movement, the Bauhaus, and the International Style, this book provides a new understanding of how the Werkbund functioned, how it pursued its aims, and how it achieved such a profound and enduring legacy.