View onto the Terrace of the Bauhaus Canteen, Dessau

The period during which the Bayers were living in Dessau was to become the most productive phase of Irene Bayer’s photographic work. Her pictures of Bauhaus members and their everyday life at the revolutionary art college scintillate with the spirit of a dawning new era and joy in life prevailing there – a spirit otherwise only found in T. Lux Feininger’s photos. Several of her photos have become irrevocable icons of Bauhaus photography, such as the steeply angled view of the canteen terrace at the Bauhaus from above. During a break, Irene Bayer photographed students eating, reading the papers, and talking. The photographer deliberately exploits the heavy shadows cast by the bodies and the strict diagonal running from bottom left to top right. The willing participation of some of the Bauhaus members pictured creates a bond between the viewer and what is viewed, photographer and models.

[AG 2015]