Johannes Itten (The Great Masters of Art)

When the State Bauhaus opened in Weimar in 1918, the Swiss art theorist Johannes Itten (1888–1967) was one of the first teachers to be appointed by founder Walter Gropius. Itten had a considerable effect on the Bauhaus’s creative training program, and his insights into the theory of colors set standards in art and design education that are still in use today. Constantly in dialogue with students and colleagues, Itten created works in which he examined the aura, contrasts, and forms of color. Inspired by his own teacher Adolf Hölzel, Itten developed a famous doctrine of color types whose significance extended far beyond the realms of fine art into everyday culture. Published to coincide with the jubilee year of the Bauhaus, this volume introduces the life and work of one of the movement’s most formative theorists.