The concept of a Bauhaus style was something that Walter Gropius, founder of the renowned school of art, design, and architecture in Dessau and Weimar, did not favor.
As Renato De Fusco tells us in his History of Design: Gropius was always opposed to his school being characterized in a stylistic sense, in other words, that a Bauhaus style should impose itself alongside others.
Despite the founder’s stance, a strong and recognizable Bauhaus style emerged through the application of the school’s radical principles in design and the arts. The stylistic coherence of the works produced by those who passed through the school translates into economy, precision, and a lack of mental waste in art production, prioritizing function over the idea of beauty and harmony of forms.
The Bauhaus was a unique moment in the history of art, architecture, and design. The production of books reflecting on this unparalleled moment is vast and can be consulted here.
Fortunately, many original volumes have been made available for free download over time, thanks especially to the work of the Kandinski Library at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the legendary site Monoskop.
The Bauhaus in a Series of 14 Books
The Bauhausbücher series began in 1923 as a project by Walter Gropius and László Moholy-Nagy. The ambitious program included 30 volumes and aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of Bauhaus teachings in the world of design and the arts, as well as the possibilities that applying the school’s principles offered to an increasingly modern world.
On this page, we offer the German versions, with a link to the site where they can be found and downloaded for free.
We will also reference the beautiful English reprints by the Swiss publisher Lars Müller Publishers, which reissued them in 2019 to celebrate the Bauhaus centenary.
1. Walter Gropius, Internationale Architektur
To download the first Bauhaus book, visit Monoskop >
This book by Gropius is the first of what was intended to be a series of 30 books that the school’s founder had planned with one of the Bauhaus professors, László Moholy-Nagy. In Internationale Architektur, Gropius provides an overview of the most interesting buildings of the 1920s, those that would later be defined as part of the International Style. From the functionalism of Le Corbusier to the neoplastic style of Rietveld, this book brings together architectural projects that abandon decoration and express a new language of precision, functionality, and pure geometry.
2. Paul Klee, Pädagogisches Skizzenbuch
Visit this page to get the book on free download >
Paul Klee was one of the most influential artists of the last century, and for a period he was also a professor at the Bauhaus in Dessau. Klee compiled his observations on the fundamental attributes of the visual world in this pedagogical notebook, intended to serve as the basis for his design theory course. From the simple phenomenon of intersecting lines, his work leads to the understanding of defined planes: structure, dimension, balance, movement, and depth in space.
3. Adolf Meyer, Ein Versuchshaus des Bauhauses in Weimar
Visit this page for a free download of the third Bauhaus book >
This book, edited by Adolf Meyer, Gropius’s right-hand man, details the direction of the work on the “Haus am Horn” project, an experimental house designed by Georg Muche and the Bauhaus architecture department. The house was built for the first Bauhaus exhibition in 1923, and in this book, published the following year, Meyer describes its technical realization, providing details on the design, materials, and companies involved.
4. Die Bühne am Bauhaus
Visit this page for getting the book on free download >
In this book, you will find essays by two Bauhaus professors who were particularly interested in theater and performance. Oskar Schlemmer, who had developed his distinctive style combining theater, dance, masks, and costumes since 1923, created an unmistakable representational style. At the same time, Moholy-Nagy, who joined the Bauhaus in the same year, writes an essay on his interest in lighting and stage architecture.
5. Piet Mondrian, Neue Gestaltung, Neoplastizimus, Nieuwe Beelding
Click here for the download page of the Bauhausbücher series >
This book collects several essays written by Mondrian for the journal of the Dutch De Stijl movement, of which the renowned painter was a member. Mondrian and his painting of orthogonal lines and primary colors were a significant influence on the Bauhaus, which translated his essays into German and compiled them in the fifth volume of the series.
6. Theo van Doesburg, Grundbegriffe der neuen gestaltenden Kunst
Visit this page to download the Bauhaus books for free >
Theo Van Doesburg was a major figure in the art world of the last century. Together with Mondrian and Gerrit Rietveld, he founded the influential movement De Stijl, while working as a painter and an art critic. We know that the modernist movement in the Netherlands translated into Neo-Plasticism, while in Germany it was expressed in the Bauhaus. The protagonists of both movements moved in unison, collaborating on many projects and respecting each other’s activities and viewpoints. Following Mondrian, it was Van Doesburg’s turn to write a Bauhaus book. In volume six, the painter and theorist addresses the modern artist (his contemporaries) and seeks to make the basic concepts of painting accessible and understandable.
7. Walter Gropius , Neue Arbeiten der Bauhauswerkstäffen
Bauhaus book number 7 is available here for free download >
For those interested in design of furniture and objects, book number 7 is by far the most exciting. In this volume, Gropius himself explains the Bauhaus approach not only to architecture but also to the production of kitchen utensils, furniture, and lamps proposed at the school. Among the discoveries highlighted by the book’s beautiful illustrations are Marianne Brandt’s teapots and lamps, Marcel Breuer’s Wassily Chair, and even the furnishings of Gropius’s own famous studio.
8. Moholy-Nagy, Malerei, Fotografie, Film
For the free version of the famous Painting, Photography, Film, visit this page >
Moholy-Nagy was a prominent figure at the Bauhaus school. His alliance with Gropius was strong, and as soon as the school moved to Weimar, the two began publishing this remarkable series of books. In addition to being the editor and designer, the great artist also produced this title, in which he argues for the inclusion of film and photography in the world of art.
9. Kandinsky, Punkt und Linie zu Fläche: Beitrag zur Analyse der malerischen Elemente
Here is Kandinski’s volume in the series of free Bauhaus books >
One of the most famous Bauhaus professors was Kandinsky, who, after “inventing” abstract art, took on the introductory course at Gropius’s school. In this splendid book, the Russian painter continues the theories expressed in Concerning the Spiritual in Art and explains to his students how points, lines, and surfaces evoke different emotions in the artist and the viewer.
10. J.J.P. Oud, Holländische Architektur
Click here to discover J.J.P. Oud book and download it free >
J.J.P. Oud was one of the most influential architects in modern history. A founder of the De Stijl movement along with Mondrian and Van Doesburg, Oud held important positions in the city of Rotterdam and completed visionary projects throughout his long career. In this book, Oud admits that he is not a historian but an architect committed to imagining the future. In one of the most interesting Bauhaus books, Oud explains his vision of modern architecture.
11. Kasimir Malewitsch, Die gegenstandslose Welt
Click here to download The Non Objective World for free >
Malevich, like Mondrian, was never officially part of Gropius’s school, but he was always a sympathizer. In the eleventh volume of the series, the Russian painter explains his painting philosophy, his worldview, and the relationship between life and art.
12. Walter Gropius, Bauhausbauten Dessau
Download free the Bauhaus Book number 12 >
The school buildings and the masters’ houses built in Dessau for the Bauhaus are considered icons of post-World War I modernist architecture. In his third and final contribution to the Bauhausbücher series, Gropius details the planning and construction of the complex, complementing his writings with photographs, sketches, and technical drawings.
Keep reading about Gropius’ book, Bauhaus Building Dessau >
13. Albert Gleizes, Kubismus
This book contains an essay by the French painter Albert Gleizes, a founder of the Cubist movement. His words are accompanied by reproductions of paintings by the major exponents of Cubism, such as Picasso, Léger, Braque, and Delaunay. The book reminds us how, in 20th-century Europe, the ties between various artistic movements were strong, with many of them converging within the Bauhaus. Volume number 13 does not currently have a link for free PDF download.
14. László Moholy-Nagy, Von Material zu Architektur
To download the last Bauhaus book in the series click here >
In the last book of the Bauhausbücher series, the visionary Hungarian artist compiles the ideas from all his teachings at the Weimar school. Starting from the principle that “everyone has talent,” Moholy-Nagy explores the Bauhaus’s educational approach, which was visionary and radical in every aspect.
