RECOMMENDED READING:
JANA REVEDIN'S BOOK ABOUT "MRS BAUHAUS"
The MAG - 03.23
By Cristina Morozzi
Jana Revedin's biographical novel about "Mrs Bauhaus"
This biographical novel (published in Italian by Neri Pozza (Vicenza) in 2020 is not just another theoretical book about the Bauhaus, but the personal and professional story of Walter Gropius, the founder of the Weimar school of art and design, and Ise, the librarian who became his wife.
In marrying Gropius a few months after their acquaintance, Ise also married the Bauhaus project, becoming its main supporter and working tirelessly to promote it, so much so that she earned the nickname “Mrs Bauhaus”.
Also part of the story are the various characters, students and teachers of the Academy, who collaborated in the founding of the principles of design: first and foremost, Hungarian László Moholy-Nagy, who defined design as an attitude, investigating its human side; Marcel Breuer, designer of the famous and timeless Wassily chair, with a metal tube support structure and leather seat, destined to oust classic upholstered armchairs; and Bruno Taut, author of the essay The Habitable Apartment.
The story is set against the backdrop of World War II, racial laws and a new philosophy of living, which envisioned, like Walter and Ise’s home, large, bright spaces, white walls and essential furnishings.
The Bauhaus was shut down in 1933 by Hitler’s party, which had won an absolute majority in the Dessau city council.
