Postcard for Bauhaus Lantern Party 1922 (Laternenfest Bauhaus 1922)

Postcard for Bauhaus Lantern Party 1922 (Laternenfest Bauhaus 1922) by Paul Klee serves as a rare piece of ephemera documenting the social and artistic life of the influential German design school. Executed in 1922, the original work is a lithograph print that was subsequently enhanced with unique watercolor additions, a technique that blurs the line between mechanical reproduction and individual artistry. This piece promoted the annual Laternenfest, one of the famous, often anarchic, parties integral to the early Bauhaus curriculum and community spirit established under Walter Gropius.

Klee, who joined the Bauhaus faculty as a Meister (Master) in 1921, employed the abstract and color-driven principles central to his pedagogy even in this functional design. The visual composition uses simplified geometric structures and rhythmic, almost musical, arrangements of line and form, characteristic of his ongoing explorations into pictorial space during the mid-1920s. The abstracted forms evoke the energy and light of the festive occasion, demonstrating how Klee translated his complex artistic theories into accessible graphic design. The varying application of watercolor across the available prints ensures that each copy of the postcard is unique, reflecting a foundational Bauhaus tenet: the integration of art and craft.

This piece is historically significant not just as a German print from the Weimar Republic era, but as a direct artifact of the school's social history. The creation of such promotional items illustrates the integration of design thinking into the institution's public identity. Unlike some of his major canvases, this work reveals how Klee translated his complex theories into functional, marketable art. This lithograph print is part of the distinguished collection at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. High-quality images of Klee's prolific output, including various experimental prints from 1922, are often made available through public domain initiatives, allowing wider access to the foundation of modern design.