The Bauhaus was a progressive German art and design school founded by the architect Walter Gropius that operated from 1919 to 1933. Authentic Bauhaus furniture — sofas, dining chairs, tables and more — and the school’s followers married industrial and natural materials in simple, geometric forms. The goal of the Bauhaus was to erase the distinction between art and craft while embracing the use of new technologies and materials.
ORIGINS OF BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGN
BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGNERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
AUTHENTIC BAUHAUS FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The name Bauhaus is derived from the German verb bauen, “to build.” Under the school’s innovative curriculum, students were taught the fine arts, such as painting and sculpture, as well as practical skills like carpentry and metalworking.
The school moved from Weimar in 1925 to the city of Dessau, where it enjoyed its heyday under Gropius, then Hannes Meyer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The period from 1932 to 1933 when it operated in Berlin under Mies was its final chapter. Despite its brief existence, the Bauhaus has had an enduring impact on art and design in the United States and elsewhere, and is regarded by many as the 20th century’s chief crucible of modernism.
The faculty roster at the Bauhaus reads like a who’s who of modernist creative genius — it included such artists as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and László Moholy-Nagy along with architects and designers like Mies and Marcel Breuer, who became known for his muscular brutalist-style concrete buildings in the postwar years. In 1925, while he was head of the Bauhaus carpentry workshop, Breuer gave form to his signature innovation: the use of lightweight tubular-steel frames for chairs, side tables and sofas — a technique soon adopted by Mies and others. Breuer’s Cesca chair was the first-ever tubular steel frame chair with a caned seat to be mass produced, while the inspiration for his legendary Wassily chair, a timeless design and part of the collection crafted to furnish the Dessau school, was the bike he rode around campus.
Bauhaus design style reflects the tenets by which these creators worked: simplicity, clarity and function. They disdained superfluous ornament in favor of precise construction. Seating pieces such as side chairs, armchairs or club chairs for example, were made with tubular metal or molded plywood frames, and upholstery was made from leather or cane. Above all, designs in the Bauhaus style offer aesthetic flexibility. They can be the elements of a wholly spare, minimalist space, the quiet foundation of an environment in which color and pattern come from one’s own collection of art and artifacts.
Today, from textiles to typefaces, architecture, furniture and decorative objects for the home, Bauhaus creations continue to have an outsize influence on modern design.
Find a collection of authentic Bauhaus furniture on 1stDibs.
Handwoven, Plant-dyed Framed Fine Tapestry Artwork - Teals Colour Study
By Pamela Print
Located in Chelmsford, GB
This tactile piece of hand-woven textile art is one of a collection of one-off plant-dyed pieces designed and produced by British Weaver Pamela Print. This piece is dyed by hand usi...
Wool
Handwoven, Plant-dyed Framed Fine Tapestry Artwork - Yellows Colour Study
By Pamela Print
Located in Chelmsford, GB
This tactile piece of hand-woven textile art is one of a collection of one-off plant-dyed pieces designed and produced by British Weaver Pamela Print. This piece is dyed by hand usi...
Wool
$471Sale Price|20% Off
Midcentury Acrylic Leopard Painting, Gold Wood Frame, 1960s, Europe
Located in 05-080 Hornowek, PL
Acrylic painting with Leopard. Hand painted in Italy. In the set of gold wood frame. Very nice decoration for every interior. Only one unique piece.
Wood, Paint
Handwoven, Plant-dyed Framed Fine Tapestry Artwork - Greens Colour Study
By Pamela Print
Located in Chelmsford, GB
This tactile piece of hand-woven textile art is one of a collection of one-off plant-dyed pieces designed and produced by British Weaver Pamela Print. This piece is dyed by hand using natural and repurposed yarns and techniques such as Ikat and dip-dyeing using the natural dyes weld & fustic and over-dyed with indigo to achieve the shades of green. Handwoven on a dobby loom in Pamela's studio using a complex double cloth weaving technique and a combination of weave structures, including a 3D honeycomb, this unique framed artwork draws inspiration from the ethos and aesthetic of Indian Kantha & Japanese Boro textiles. One of a kind. Two similar designs - ‘Yellows Colour Study...
Wool
Abstract Art Collage - Painting Bauhaus Style - "Mobile N.9" by Soizic MENUT
Located in ROUEN, Normandie
Abstract Art Collage - Painting Bauhaus Style - "Mobile N.9" by Soizic MENUT "Mobile N.9" is an original and one-of-a-kind collage artwork (this is not a print). This original art...
Paint, Paper
$75Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage Botanical Mushroom Illustration, by E. Hochdanz, Stuttgart, Germany
Located in 05-080 Hornowek, PL
Vintage botanical mushroom illustration print, published by E. Hochdanz, Stuttgart (Germany), circa late 19th – early 20th century, featuring meticulously hand-colored depictions of ...
Paper
Italian ceramics with Ballerina figure in the style of Oskar Schlemmer
Located in Milano, IT
Set of 12 pieces in Italian ceramic, handcrafted AND HAND-PAINTED, inspired by a 20th-century ballerina motif. This is not simply a decorative covering, but a visual narrative. Each...
Ceramic
Important Anni Albers style Bauhaus or Black Mountain Period Hand Weaving
By Anni Albers, Bauhaus
Located in Sharon, CT
A period hand woven horizontal rectangles in two yellows and off white in a strict 'implied verticals' geometric Bauhaus or Black Mountain Design. Approximately 26 x 25.75 x 3/8".
Cotton
Bauhaus Textured Resin Panel, 1970s
Located in Montelabbate, PU
Panel with wooden base worked in relief weaving patterns executed in resin. The wooden frame is finished in bronze/copper. The colours as photo are slightly metallic. The theme is in...
Resin, Plywood
Bauhaus Pink Purple Black White Black Hand-Knotted Large Runner Rug in Stock
By Bauhaus
Located in New York, NY
Contemporary Postmodern Bauhaus rug. The rug design is inspired by modernistic German fine art school, the Bauhaus, founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar. F...
Wool
$16,875Sale Price|25% Off
Park Bei Lu by Paul Klee Large Scale Tile Mosaic
By Paul Klee, (after) Paul Klee
Located in Las Vegas, NV
LARGE and Absolutely incredible Park Bei Lu, by Paul Klee, Large Scale Mosaic tile art piece. Mosaic is framed. Bold lines and colors, this piece combi...
Ceramic, Maple
$918Sale Price|20% Off
Aleksandr Rodchenko Constructivist Photograph Gelatin silver print 1936
By Man Ray, Lucia Moholy-Nagy, László Moholy-Nagy
Located in Brussels, Brussels
The Pole Vault, 1936 Photography by Alexander Rodchenko Gelatin silver print, on Agfa barite paper. Printed in 1987 by Alexander Lavrentiev from the original negative from around 1936. Limited edition of the Griffelkunst-Vereinigung e.V., Hamburg. Photographer’s Stamp A. M. Родченко (Cyrillic) on the backside image/sheet: 18 x 23.8 cm Alexander Rodchenko (1891–1956) was a Russian avant-garde artist, photographer, and graphic designer, renowned for his contributions to the Constructivist movement. He studied painting at the Kazan School of Art before moving to Moscow, where he became a pivotal figure in the Russian avant-garde. Rodchenko embraced geometric abstraction and worked across various media, including painting, sculpture, and photomontage. He was a leading innovator in Soviet photography...
Paper
Bauhaus Wall Coat Hanger, 1930s
Located in Praha, CZ
Bauhaus wall coat hanger with 7 hooks.
Chrome
Modern Rug Bauhaus Style Erased Design Wool, Silk Hand Knotted
Located in Lohr, Bavaria, DE
A beautiful new and made to order Bauhaus design inspired carpet, hand knotted using finest Chinese mulberry silk and Tibetan Highland Wool. The design features typical elements such...
Wool, Silk
Original Vintage Poster Cleanliness In Your Hand Hygiene Bauhaus Graphic Design
Located in London, GB
Original vintage hygiene and health propaganda poster - Cologne's Cleanliness In Your Hands / In Deiner Hand Kolns Sauberkeit - featuring a great Bauhaus style graphic design of a hand dropping a tissue in a rubbish bin...
Paper
Constructivist Abstract Gouache by Boris Alepkow, Geometric Forms, Signed, 1960s
Located in San Francisco, US
This Constructivist abstract gouache by Boris Alepkow, circa 1960s, features layered geometric forms in teal, red, orange, dark green, and white arranged across a textured, sand‑tone...
Paper
$716Sale Price|20% Off
1920s Style Berlin Street Scene, Black Woodcut on Paper, Framed, 1973
Located in Berlin, DE
"Transport yourself to the vibrant streets of 1920s Berlin with this captivating black woodcut on paper, delicately framed and preserved since its creation in 1973. The artwork encap...
Glass, Beech, Paint, Paper
Bauhaus Wall Coat Hanger, Perfect Condition, 1920s
Located in Praha, CZ
Excellent condition: new nickel plating.
Nickel
Print No.12 Snowman by Josef Capek, 1929
Located in Praha, CZ
The Capek brothers are one of the world's most famous artists from the former Czechoslovakia. Josef Capek was a painter and in 1949 the Komenius publishing house published his collection The Happy Year, containing 12 paintings from 1929-1935, as an educational publication. This last one is called The Snowman...
Paper
$7,443Sale Price / item|29% Off
Bauhaus Office Cabinet, Black Lacquer, Mahogany, Germany circa 1930
Located in Regensburg, DE
Elegant, cleanlined Bauhaus office wall cabinet or cupboard. Two available. Fully restored, from Germany circa 1930. Black high gloss piano lacque...
Metal
$113Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage Botanical Mushroom Illustration, by E. Hochdanz, Stuttgart, Germany
Located in 05-080 Hornowek, PL
Antique entomological illustration plate showcasing a wide variety of insects and arthropods, printed in Germany and featuring original German scientific nomenclature. Likely produce...
Paper
Bauhaus Wall Coat Rack and Shelves for Hats, 1930's
Located in Praha, CZ
Made in Czechoslovakia Made of Aluminium, Metal With aged patina Re-polished Fully Functional Good original condition.
Metal, Aluminum
Hand Carved Wall Panel in Walnut
Located in Los Angeles, CA
On a road trip from LA to Seattle, while passing through a small village on the Oregon coast, my fiance and I decided to stop by the Salishan Lodge to view the architecture and the a...
Walnut
Daniel Yacubovich for Vinçon, “Humagneto” Magnetic Figure Sculpture, Spain, 1990
Located in BARCELONA, ES
Rare “Humagneto” magnetic figure designed by Daniel Yacubovich, produced and sold exclusively by Vinçon Barcelona during the 1990s. Conceived as a poetic and playful wall object, thi...
Metal
$282Sale Price|20% Off
Small Oil Painting, White Wood Frame, The City, Ray Bai, 1995
Located in 05-080 Hornowek, PL
Small oil painting, the city on it. Signed Ray Bai 1995. Hand painted in Denmark. In the set of white wood frame. Very nice small decoration for ...
Wood, Paint
Bauhaus-Influenced Abstract Geometric Composition, Signed Bayer, 1954
Located in Berlin, DE
This striking abstract oil on canvas, signed Bayer and dated 1954, exemplifies the refined visual language of postwar European modernism. The composition is built from overlapping ge...
Canvas
Surrealist Oil on Canvas Painting of Furniture Leg
Located in Round Top, TX
Unique, original oil on canvas painting with surrealist-treatment to room interior. We love the neutral color palette with hint of Yves Klein blue. 32.63ʺW × 1.25ʺD × 47.75ʺH Creat...
Canvas, Wood, Paint
Bauhaus Wall Cotton Rug, Flat-Wave Hand Woven, Bauhaus Weaving Workshop, c. 1925
Located in Berlin, DE
Flat-weave handwoven cotton wall rugs from the Bauhaus weaving workshop. "Bauhaus-Stoff" by an unknown designer, in composition, contrast and color stylistically under the influence ...
Cotton
$1,440Sale Price|20% Off
Austrian Socialism Realism Graphic Penting
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Socialist realism painting buy R. Kovach . Graphic painting and walnut original frame .Panting shipping continental USA in home delivery $285 2-4 weeks . if shipping UPS 5-10 days s...
Wood
Photogram No. 4 by Timothy Reagan
Located in New York, NY
Unique photogram, No. 4, by New York photographer Timothy Reagan, produced as part of a series in 1997-98. An 11" x 14" gelatin silver print, nev...
Wood
$1,550
Paul Citroen Nude
By Paul Citroen
Located in Tilburg, NL
Bauhaus trained artist Paul Citroen (1896-1983) is famous for his graphic works and photographs. This drawing of a nude woman is fantastic in its simple form and warm colors. The ...
Paper
Dmitry Samygin 'Architectural Delusion 3' Contemporary Painting in Bauhaus Style
Located in Paris, IDF
"Architectural Delusion 3" Gouache on paper Measures: 68 x 53 cm, frame included (Signed on the back). Bauhaus style and geometric abstraction style. Geometric shapes in ...
Paint
$1,696Sale Price / set|20% Off
Set of Two Studies in the Bauhaus Style Typography, Gouache from 1920s
Located in Vienna, Austria
Two decorative studies in typography, painted in gouache on paper with influences from the Bauhaus. The studies were made in the master class for graphic design in Pressburg. Both ...
Paper
$1,696Sale Price|20% Off
"Blue triangle and Black Square" by Kazimir Malevich Vintage serigraphy
By Kazimir Malevich
Located in BARCELONA, ES
Investing in "Blue Triangle and Black Square" by Kazimir Malevich Vintage Serigraphy is an opportunity to own a piece of art history that embodies the essence of the Russian avant-g...
Paint, Paper
Dmitry Samygin 'Architectural Delusion 1' Contemporary Painting in Bauhaus Style
Located in Paris, IDF
"Architectural Delusion 1" Gouache on paper Measures: 68 x 53 cm, frame included (Signed on the back) Bauhaus style and geometric abstraction style. Geometric shapes in b...
Paint
$390Sale Price|44% Off
Vintage Large German Medical Chart, Poster "Eye II"
Located in Vienna, AT
Medical educational chart "eye II" from the 1930s. Printed by Offseddruck Paul Trabert Leipzig, signed Deutsches Hygiene Museum Dresden.
Wood, Paper
$290Sale Price|58% Off
Vintage Large German Medical Chart, Poster "Orthopedics of Foot"
Located in Vienna, AT
Medical educational chart "orthopedics of foot" from the 1930s. Printed by Offseddruck Paul Trabert Leipzig, signed Deutsches Hygiene Museum Dresden.
Paper
Vintage Art Deco Brass Plate, Germany, Bauhaus, 1920s
Located in Roma, IT
Art Deco brass plate is an original decorative artwork realized in the 1930s. Original brass decorative object. Fine conditions: Vintage signs of aging are present. Beautiful deco...
Brass
A vintage pull-down medical wall chart illustrating "Orthopedics of Foot" 1930s
Located in Den Haag, NL
A vintage pull-down medical wall chart illustrating "Orthopedics of Foot" 1930s DDR signed Deutsches Hygiene Museum Dresden.
Linen
Drawing on Paper Nature Morte Still Life Attributed to Amédée Ozenfant
Located in Atlanta, GA
A graphite and pastel color drawing “Nature Morte” on paper attributed to French artist Amédée Ozenfant (1886-1966). The drawing was discovered in a collector’s estate in US. It is a...
Paper
$699Sale Price|40% Off
Gouache Painting of an Bauhaus/ Art Deco Interior Scene, Impressionism Frame
Located in Hamburg, DE
In interesting combination of a Modern Bauhaus style gouache, combined with an impressive Impressionism frame. The gouache painting is made by an artist from Berlin and shows a timel...
Wood, Paper
Contemporary Colorful Nude Chalk Sketch of Women circa 1960 Signed Ball
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
Portrait landscape chalk sketch of two nude women posing in front of a window with outlines of foliage and chairs and table. The subjects have dark brown or black hair, one tied with...
Paper
Henri PFEIFFER (1907-1994), "Step of two", 1931
Located in Paris, FR
Henri Pfeiffer joined the Bauhaus at the age of 17, where he became a student of Paul Klee. He created numerous abstract works with a renewed vision of color use and perception. From...
Paper
Henri PFEIFFER (1907-1994), shacks under fireworks, 1928
Located in Paris, FR
Henri Pfeiffer joined the Bauhaus at the age of 17, where he became a student of Paul Klee. He created numerous abstract works with a renewed vision of color use and perception. From...
Paper
LMN Brass and LED Wall Sconce by Nomade Atelier
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Mexican design bureau Nomade Atelier pays homage to Laszlo Moholy-Nagy's geometrical and cosmic monograms and prints- from color scheme to construction....
Brass