original bauhaus – workbook

Between 1919 and 1933 the Bauhaus thrived as a school of ideas that encouraged students to experiment with material, color, and drawing techniques and learn basic skills to become artists, architects, or designers. One hundred years later, its educational methods are still relevant. This book introduces the famous Foundation course and its major instructors: Joseph Albers, Johannes Itten, and László Moholy-Nagy. It offers for the first time a series of more than fifty exercises from the Foundation Course. The book presents a collection of exercises gathered from historical material, mainly from the Bauhaus-Archiv such as drawings, photographs, original notes, and later recollections of the tasks given by the famous Bauhaus artists. The exercises are accompanied by comments by teachers, artists, and experts with different professional backgrounds. These teachings illustrate not only the methods and philosophy of the Bauhaus school, but also provide budding artists with a foundation for developing their own practice, whether it be in drawing, architecture, design, or typography.