Bauhaus Ausstellung Weimar 1923

The lithograph Bauhaus Ausstellung Weimar 1923 by Paul Klee serves as the official poster for the pivotal first major exhibition of the State Bauhaus school, held in Weimar during the summer of 1923. This seminal piece, executed in the medium of lithography, exemplifies the radical intersection of fine art and graphic design that characterized the German avant-garde movement in the immediate post-WWI era.

The year 1923 marked a crucial inflection point for the Bauhaus. Director Walter Gropius officially reoriented the school, shifting emphasis away from the earlier craft-based expressionism toward a rigorous functionalism rooted in industrial production and the motto "Art and Technology: A New Unity." Klee, serving as a Master at the school, contributed this concise and powerful graphic work to promote the event.

As a piece of influential German design history, the poster reflects the school’s commitment to integrating strict artistic principles into mass communication. Klee utilizes characteristic geometric forms—including a clear arrangement of circles, squares, and triangles—to create a balanced, asymmetrical composition. The print employs bold black lines contrasted with fields of primary color, creating visual tension and rhythm appropriate for communicating the functional excitement of a major public event while adhering to abstract modernist principles. This design choice powerfully embodies the streamlined aesthetic the school aimed to disseminate globally.

This significant lithograph, classified specifically as a prime example of early 20th-century graphic design, remains an iconic document of Modernism. Held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the original artwork is frequently studied and reproduced. Because of the age and prominence of the 1923 poster, high-quality prints of the work by Klee are widely available, often circulated as public domain materials, allowing its historical design influence to persist globally.