The Bauhaus and its precursors in the graphic arts industry
 

Comprising of posters, magazines, stamps, typefaces and photographs, the exhibition presents in four thematic areas how arduous, but also innovative the way to modern graphic design in Germany was. With a focus on the year 1919, the simultaneity of different styles becomes visible, as well as the contribution of the Bauhaus and the graphic arts as a motor for modernism. A look back to the turn of the century illustrates the path to modern design, while exhibits from the 1920s illustrate the further development of individual design ideas.

The First World War created a vacuum in many aspects of society and industry - including in Design. In Leipzig, the first comprehensive International Exhibition of the Book Industry and Graphic Arts (Bugra) took place in 1914, but its potential was cut short following the Wars outbreak. It was not until the beginning of 1919 that this stagnation seemed to be overcome and the atmosphere became gradually more optimistic. The graphic industry, one that was always innovative in Leipzig, took up from where it left off 1914, while at the same time many companies tried to break new ground in advertising design.

Primarily on display are exhibits from the extensive collections in Leipzig, without whose support this exhibition would not have been possible. We thank the German Museum of Books and Writing of the German National Library in Leipzig, the Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig, the Archive of the Leipziger Messe GmbH, the Sächsisches Wirtschaftsarchiv and the Sächsisches Staatsarchiv – Staatsarchiv Leipzig. Further exhibits are from the Kunstbibliothek der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, the Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin, the Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, the Modernist Archive of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, the Schulenburg Mansion in Gera, the Bröhan Design Foundation Berlin and our own collection.

The exhibition is a contribution to the Bauhaus 100 Anniversary