New Bauhaus Building, Balconies on the Preller Building, Dessau

Irene Bayer, 1927

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The acutely angled view from below of the balconies on the studio building in the Dessau Bauhaus complex was a favourite motif that was used by several members of the Bauhaus, including László Moholy-Nagy. Irene Bayer’s photo cuts the building at a sharp angle as well, and uses the contours of the white outer walls as a kind of background for the telling shadows that are cast by the balconies.

Herbert Bayer used this photo for the cover his ‘bauhaus dessau’ prospectus. He added a sky-blue background against the white body of the building and the strikingly projecting bases of the balconies and railings, and also placed lettering across the picture in his Universal font, all in white lower-case letters. Irene Bayer’s photograph served as a model for Herbert Bayer’s designer’s eye here, and it is an outstanding example of their collaboration.

[AG 2015]

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