Buildings and depictions of architecture play a prominent role in Feininger’s work. The villages and medieval churches of Thuringia in particular remained a permanent source of inspiration throughout the artist’s life.
1911 was a year of revelations for Feininger. He was still in Paris at this time, which was where he was first exposed to the artistic movement of Cubism. The Cubists disassembled and reassembled subjects in order to create images that contained many visual perspectives simultaneously. For Feininger, Cubism represented the possibility to move beyond a purely representational approach to art. His depictions of architecture appear to be flooded with light, which allowed him to capture both the physical and metaphysical sides of a structure. He attempted to recreate the character of a building by distilling it into its aura. In the way people of the Middle Ages stood in awe of cathedrals, Feininger strove to depict people’s spiritual experiences of architecture.
The genesis of many of the artist’s paintings stemmed from drawings he made to document his environment and precise observations of the natural world. Feininger called these his “nature notes.” He used these sketches to generate larger compositions at later dates, sometimes years after their initial creation. He would return to his “nature notes,” gradually shape the motif in his mind’s eye, and then render it in a painting.
During one summer stay in Heringsdorf on the island of Usedom, Feininger discovered the village church of Zirchow. He was struck by its compact form and short, spire-topped tower. In 1918, he transformed it into a monumental building with rich colors awash in mysterious light. The structure of the church consists of overlapping, rhythmically arranged planes. They are distilled into geometric forms, each with its own color gradation, which gives the two-dimensional painting a three-dimensional effect. The composition of the surfaces and the nuanced use of blue shades create the illusion of light moving across the image the way the sun travels across the sky. Feininger illustrated the passage of time in an unmoving medium.
“The further I came, the more beautiful the villages were.”
LYONEL
FEININGER–1913
“The further I came, the more beautiful the villages were.”
LYONEL FEININGER –1913
In 1919, German architect Walter Gropius (1883–1969) founded the Bauhaus in Weimar. Gropius appointed Feininger to the first generation of teachers – Masters, as they were called. Thus, the artist and his family took up residency in Weimar. By 1921, he had become the artistic director of the printmaking department. Julia Feininger was enrolled at the Bauhaus as a student and took many of her husband’s classes.
In the fourteen short years that the Bauhaus was in operation – from 1919 to 1933 – it cemented its legacy as the 20th century’s most important educational institution for art, architecture, and design. The mission of the Bauhaus was not only to forge new, contemporary methods of design, but also to create a new concept of knowledge creation and bring about an overall societal change.
A medieval church rises up from the ground. The central tower is flanked by smaller towers, all of which encircle the nave. The black ink amplifies the crystalline appearance of the building and its surroundings. This woodcut from 1919 was used as the title page of Walter Gropius’s founding manifesto for the Bauhaus. The church is surrounded by rays of light being cast from the three stars crowning each tower, which symbolize the communion between all art genres.
In his manifesto, Gropius put forth the idea of the “new building of the future” to unite all arts—architecture, sculpture, and painting—which were previously separated from one another in traditional academies. The Bauhaus curriculum romanticized medieval building techniques. The way in which craftsmen joined forces to form a cooperative, working group in order to erect a building played an important symbolic role for Gropius. The Bauhaus was to be a kind of “building site office” that was to facilitate the connection between art and handcraft and unite arts into a Gesamtkunstwerk.
Bauhauses in Weimar
A medieval church rises up from the ground. The central tower is flanked by smaller towers, all of which encircle the nave. The black ink amplifies the crystalline appearance of the building and its surroundings. This woodcut from 1919 was used as the title page of Walter Gropius’s founding manifesto for the Bauhaus. The church is surrounded by rays of light being cast from the three stars crowning each tower, which symbolize the communion between all art genres.
In his manifesto, Gropius put forth the idea of the “new building of the future” to unite all arts—architecture, sculpture, and painting—which were previously separated from one another in traditional academies. The Bauhaus curriculum romanticized medieval building techniques. The way in which craftsmen joined forces to form a cooperative, working group in order to erect a building, played an important symbolic role for Gropius. The Bauhaus was to be a kind of “building site office” that was to facilitatethe connection between art and handcraft and unite arts into a Gesamtkunstwerk.
_ innovative teaching at the Bauhaus
Education was the main focus at the Bauhaus. Walter Gropius developed this diagram to visualize his curriculum with “building” at the center of the circle. Only the most talented students were admitted to the architectural program. At the beginning of their studies, all students took a preliminary course. They experimented freely with color, form, and materials without specific projects to execute. Instead of copying templates, as was the standard practice in most art academies, the students’ intuition was the basis for their designs. The preliminary course was followed by material praxis workshops, which the students chose based on their individual aptitudes. Gropius’s newly developed pedagogy was unprecedented. This attracted renowned artists, including Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, to join the faculty and to provide innovative instruction in the workshops.
_ innovative teaching at the Bauhaus
Education was the main focus at the Bauhaus. Walter Gropius developed this diagram to visualize his curriculum with “building” at the center of the circle. Only the most talented students were admitted to the architectural program. At the beginning of their studies, all students took a preliminary course. They experimented freely with color, form, and materials without specific projects to execute. Instead of copying templates, as was the standard practice in most art academies, the students’ intuition was the basis for their designs. The preliminary course was followed by material praxis workshops, which the students chose based on their individual aptitudes. Gropius’s newly developed pedagogy was unprecedented. This attracted renowned artists, including Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, to join the faculty and to provide innovative instruction in the workshops.
Throughout his life, Feininger believed that music and painting went hand in hand. Staring from childhood, music played a large role in his life. His mother Elizabeth Feininger, neé Lutz, was a singer and pianist. His father, Karl, was a renowned violinist and composer, and they both filled their home with music. Lyonel Feininger began taking violin lessons with his father at the age of nine. When he was sixteen years old, he traveled to Germany to study violin at the Königliches Konservatorium der Musik (Eng. Royal Conservatorium of Music) in Leipzig. Although he ultimately decided to study visual art, music remained an important driving force in his creative process.
“Without music, I cannot see myself as a painter.”
LYONEL FEININGER –1944
In Weimar, Feininger met the composer Hans Brönner, who shared his appreciation for the fugues of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). Feininger was fascinated by the structure, order, symmetry, rigor, and logic of Bach’s music. He was particularly interested in Bach’s use of counterpoint—a musical principle in which one melodic sequence is played in conjunction with another. The two melodies have a contrasting progression organized according to strict rules, which ultimately create a harmonious sound.
Feininger compared his own art with the “synthesis of a fugue”,
in which harmony and dissonance coexist with staggered, overlapping motifs and rhythms.
Feininger also composed music. In 1921, he wrote his first fugue. By 1928, he had completed fifteen more fugues. Although many of his pieces were performed, only “Fuge VI” was published during his lifetime. Feininger’s fugues were well-received by critics. That being said, Feininger himself was often disappointed by the public presentation of his music, because he found the musicians’ interpretations to be too modern.
Audio
“Fugue I” (Excerpt)
Audio
“Fugue I” (Excerpt)
For a long time, Feininger was very critical of photography and the overall mechanization of art production. Nevertheless, he began to experiment with photography at the end of the 1920s. A deciding factor in his change of perspective could have come from the fact that his three sons – Andreas, Laurence, and T. Lux – were all very occupied with the medium at this time. For Feininger, photography was a private affair. He was, therefore, able to experiment freely and develop his own photographic style without the pressure of trying to make salable results.
The artist used similar motifs in both photography and painting and explored specific possibilities of the respective media. He also used photography to pursue the same visual techniques he used in painting: capturing light, creating rhythmic compositions, and concentrating on the essence of the subject.
The Bauhaus was moved from Weimar to Dessau in 1925. Feininger and his family followed suit and moved into one of the masters’ houses that Gropius erected for the faculty. The modern Bauhaus building often served as a backdrop for photographs of the bustling daily life at the institution. This was not the case for Feininger. He was perhaps the only photographer who took pictures of the Bauhaus in the dead of night, showing it as a quiet, deserted place. This hazy night shot transforms the familiar surroundings into an alien world. Feininger’s penchant for light-dark contrasts and the interplay between shadows and forms is evident here.
The dark, rectangular row houses in this nightscape are illuminated by the shades of yellow from the lit windows. This painting was very likely composed from a photograph. Perhaps the light-dark contrast of the façade of the otherwise unassuming buildings piqued the artist’s attention during one of his nighttime strolls. The outline of the building as well as the individual windows seem somewhat blurred in the painting, as if the scene were being viewed while quickly walking by.
The Bauhaus was moved from Weimar to Dessau in 1925. Feininger and his family followed suit and moved into one of the masters’ houses that Gropius erected for the faculty. The modern Bauhaus building often served as a backdrop for photographs of the bustling daily life at the institution. This was not the case for Feininger. He was perhaps the only photographer who took pictures of the Bauhaus in the dead of night, showing it as a quiet, deserted place. This hazy night shot transforms the familiar surroundings into an alien world. Feininger’s penchant for light-dark contrasts and the interplay between shadows and forms is evident here.
The dark, rectangular row houses in this nightscape are illuminated by the shades of yellow from the lit windows. This painting was very likely composed from a photograph. Perhaps the light-dark contrast of the façade of the otherwise unassuming buildings piqued the artist’s attention during one of his nighttime strolls. The outline of the building as well as the individual windows seem somewhat blurred in the painting, as if the scene were being viewed while quickly walking by.
GELMERODA: SMALL CHURCH, GOTHIC CATHEDRAL
One of Feininger’s most important series focuses on the village church of Gelmeroda (today a district of Weimar). The artist first sketched the church in 1906 and dedicated himself to portraying it in his work up until shortly before his death.
The church of Gelmeroda is a gothic-era building. Its iconic, pointed tower was added to the church in 1830. Feininger featured it in ten paintings, over twenty-five drawings, one etching, fourteen woodcuts, and one lithograph. This series is a comprehensive reflection of Feininger’s artistic methods, including his constant use of his impressions of nature as a starting point for his works. Between 1906 and 1919, Feininger spent a lot of time in Weimar and produced numerous “nature notes” directly in front of the church. The artist notated what he saw with swift, confident lines, which became source material for monumental compositions years – and sometimes decades – after the fact.
In this painting, Feininger shows the eastern side of the church. This was how it appeared when one entered the village. The narrow church and its long, thin steeple is surrounded by a fragmented, crystalline sky. A towering fir tree to the right of it serves as its compositional counterweight. The nuanced palate of yellows contrasted against the darker elements gives the painting a rhythmic quality. Both the church tower and tree tilt slightly to the right, which gives the composition a feeling of tension.
Here one sees a very different interpretation of the motif. The church is seen from the side, and the steeple is shifted to the left from its vertical center axis. It rises up to meet the upper edge of the canvas. The painting is divided into distinct areas by horizontal and vertical lines. The cool, grayish-blue color palette emphasizes the austerity of this rendition of Gelmeroda. The church is no longer contrasted with the fir tree, but rather it is framed by houses. The small, narrowly painted people in front of the façade amplify the vertical orientation composition. Instead of recreating a small, village church, Feininger monumentalizes it into a magnificent cathedral.
In this woodcut, the artist abstracts natural forms. The surface of the church is broken up into geometric shapes with precise lines. The linear treatment of the church extends beyond the structure, merging the architecture with its surroundings. The small village church seems immaterial, like a crystalline form at the center of a cosmos.
Now, the church tower is rendered in shades of brown and white against a cerulean sky with lilac highlights. The illuminated window in the tower has the presence of a large, green eye. On the left edge of the painting, a tree juts into the field of view. The overlapping planes of the composition seem translucent; this translucency symbolizes mental clarity and spirituality. The artist is not merely depicting a church. He is substantiating people’s spiritual relationship to said church.
The last known iteration of Gelmeroda is this lithograph from 1955, which the artist based on an ink drawing completed in the prior year. The church tower has a spectral glow and filigree quality. The fine lines and diffused grays create the impression that one is observing the artist midthought while he builds this motif. It is a fading memory; in view, yet out of reach.
“There is solely one art—the timeless”
LYONEL
FEININGER–1917
“There is solely one art—the timeless”
LYONEL
FEININGER–1917
_ Underway by Bicycle
Bicycles underwent a design overhaul and a surge in popularity at the end of the 19th century. The cumbersome penny-farthing – characterized by its large front wheel, upon which the pedals were mounted – was replaced by the lower frames we know today. For modern artists, bicycles were both artistic subjects and a vital form of personal transportation, which facilitated their bodily autonomy and closeness to nature. Feininger was an avid cyclist who explored the German countryside on a modern racing bike. He once wrote of an excursion during which he “passed over twenty new villages” and rode sixty-eight kilometers in a day. Considering the condition of the roads and the technical configuration of bicycles at the time, this was a very impressive feat.