Bauhaus lamps are suitable for various purposes. You can get desk lamps, which illuminate your workplace purposefully, and get stylish bedside lamps in Bauhaus style. In addition, you can find beautiful windowsill lamps that bring the functional, purist design from the Bauhaus era into your four walls.
Bauhaus lamps and luminaires
Bauhaus classics and bestsellers
Bauhaus lamps – functional, reduced in form and without frills
Whether in painting or architecture, interior design or even lighting: the Bauhaus style is present almost everywhere. No wonder, after all, it is one of the most influential design styles of the 20th century.
It is based on the principles of the State Bauhaus – a school of art and architecture founded by architect Walter Gropius in Weimar in 1919. Although the school existed for only 14 years, its influence on art and architecture was enormous. Today, the Bauhaus, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019, is considered the home of the avant-garde of Classical Modernism.
In the Bauhaus style, form follows function. The focus is on the efficiency and usefulness of a product. Objects are reduced to essential elements. The design is factual, sober and without frills. Many products originated in the Bauhaus era have become timeless classics.
An example of this is the famous Wagenfeld lamp by Wilhelm Wagenfeld, a Bauhaus student. With its highly reduced design – the curved opal glass shade and the nickel-plated metal frame – the table lamp perfectly reflects the central idea of the Bauhaus.
Bauhaus lamps for different applications
Famous Bauhaus lamp designers
Among the most famous designers of the Bauhaus is Wilhelm Wagenfeld, who himself was a student at the state school and was taught by the artist László Moholy-Nagy. He made a name for himself as one of the most famous pioneers of industrial design and created some real design classics that are still produced today. From him comes the legendary Wagenfeld WG 24 from 1924, which is now produced by Tecnolumen.
Marianne Brandt is also inextricably linked with the name Bauhaus. She first attended the school as a student, and later taught there herself. Among her best-known works is the DMB lamp: a ceiling lamp with an opal glass sphere attached to the canopy by a filigree metal frame.
Christian Dell also worked at the Bauhaus, where he was foreman of the metal workshop. The trained silversmith designed the Bestlite lamps with their distinctive curved steel shade, which is produced today by the Danish manufacturer Fritz Hansen.
Bauhaus – influential school of art, design and architecture
Bauhaus was one of the most effective educational institutions in the field of art, design and architecture. The school was founded in 1919 by architect Walter Gropius. With the State Bauhaus, he wanted to eliminate the separation of art and craft by uniting both under one roof. The Bauhaus workshops were modeled on medieval building lodges, in which artists and craftsmen worked side by side.
After coming under political and financial pressure, the school moved to Dessau just six years later. In 1932, the school moved to Berlin, where the Bauhaus was forced to close a year later under pressure from the National Socialists. Despite the Bauhaus's short existence, the school's formative design influences continue to this day.
Bauhaus design has always focused on the efficiency and usefulness of the product. It is – as Oskar Schlemmer, who taught at the Bauhaus as a master of form, put it – about "factual objects that serve purposes." From this developed not only a contemporary and functional form design, but also one that was suitable for industry. This was because the prototypes, which were usually handmade at the Bauhaus, were to go into industrial production in order to make the design accessible to as many people as possible.
Walter Gropius was able to recruit numerous famous artists and architects for his state school. Among those who taught at the Bauhaus were Mies van der Rohe (architecture), Paul Klee (bookbinding), Wassily Kandinsky (mural painting workshop) and Johannes Itten (stained glass and metal workshop).
Typical style features for luminaires in Bauhaus design
In the Bauhaus style, it is necessary to differentiate between two types: First, there is the original Bauhaus style, whose products are clearly defined by the years in which they were created. Prototypical of this is the iconic Wagenfeld lamp.
On the other hand, there are products that were created after the Bauhaus era, but are based on the style. An example of this is the cuboid
Bauhaus lamps from Decor Walther
.Characteristic of the Bauhaus style are sober, functional designs. Superfluous details are dispensed with. Bauhaus lamps are often reduced to basic elements and just a few colors. The guiding principle behind this is that the design is derived from function, i.e. utility.
Typical colors representing the no-nonsense style are the three expressive primary colors: Blue, red and yellow. In addition, there are neutral colors such as black, white and gray.
The materials from the Bauhaus era are particularly durable and robust to meet the demands of practicality and usability. For use in floor lamps, ceiling lamps and Co are mainly glass, steel and various metals, as well as elements of brass or chrome.