Adolf Behne
Encyclopedia
Adolf Behne was a critic, art historian
, architectural writer, and artistic activist. He was one of the leaders of the Avant Garde in the Weimar Republic
.
Behne studied architecture
briefly, then the history of art in Berlin
. He joined the Deutscher Werkbund
and was a guiding light of the Arbeitsrat für Kunst
in 1918. In a 1913 critique of Bruno Taut
, Behne helped coin the term "Expressionist architecture
", and soon became one of the leading promoters of expressionism
. He was close to the members of the Magdeburg
artist collective 'The ball' and demanded the creation of a new closeness between art and architecture. He was influenced by the writings of Jakob von Uexküll
. He taught at the University of Berlin until 1933. Between 1945 and 1948 he was a professor at the National University for Fine Arts, (Staatlichen Hochschule für Bildende Kunst Berlin) and belonged to the architect group Der Ring
.
As an architect he rarely had his projects executed. However, between 1932 and 1936 he built the reception building of the main station in Düsseldorf
.
He died in Berlin. His hometown of Magdeburg named a street after him (Behneweg).
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
, architectural writer, and artistic activist. He was one of the leaders of the Avant Garde in the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
.
Behne studied architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
briefly, then the history of art in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. He joined the Deutscher Werkbund
Deutscher Werkbund
The Deutscher Werkbund was a German association of artists, architects, designers, and industrialists. The Werkbund was to become an important event in the development of modern architecture and industrial design, particularly in the later creation of the Bauhaus school of design...
and was a guiding light of the Arbeitsrat für Kunst
Arbeitsrat für Kunst
The Arbeitsrat für Kunst was a union of architects, painters, sculptors and art writers, who were based in Berlin from 1918 to 1921...
in 1918. In a 1913 critique of Bruno Taut
Bruno Taut
Bruno Julius Florian Taut , was a prolific German architect, urban planner and author active during the Weimar period....
, Behne helped coin the term "Expressionist architecture
Expressionist architecture
Expressionist architecture was an architectural movement that developed in Europe during the first decades of the 20th century in parallel with the expressionist visual and performing arts....
", and soon became one of the leading promoters of expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
. He was close to the members of the Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
artist collective 'The ball' and demanded the creation of a new closeness between art and architecture. He was influenced by the writings of Jakob von Uexküll
Jakob von Uexküll
Jakob Johann von Uexküll was a Estonian biologist who worked in the fields of muscular physiology, animal behaviour studies, and the cybernetics of life. However, his most notable contribution is the notion of umwelt, used by semiotician Thomas Sebeok...
. He taught at the University of Berlin until 1933. Between 1945 and 1948 he was a professor at the National University for Fine Arts, (Staatlichen Hochschule für Bildende Kunst Berlin) and belonged to the architect group Der Ring
Der Ring
Der Ring was an architectural collective founded in 1926 in Berlin. It emerged out of expressionist architecture with a functionalist agenda. Der Ring was a group of young architects, formed with the objective of promoting Modernist architecture. It took a position against the prevailing...
.
As an architect he rarely had his projects executed. However, between 1932 and 1936 he built the reception building of the main station in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
.
He died in Berlin. His hometown of Magdeburg named a street after him (Behneweg).
Selected Literature
- Behne, Adolf 1913. Bruno Taut. Pan 3(23) (Mar. 7, 1913): 538-540.
- Behne, Adolf 1914/1915. Biologie und Kubismus. Der Sturm 5(11/12), 68–71.
- Behne, Adolf 1919. Die Wiederkehr der Kunst. Kurt Wolff, Leipzig. Reprint: Kraus, Nendeln/Liechtenstein, 1973; Gebr. Mann, Berlin, 1998.
- Behne, Adolf 1926. Der moderne Zweckbau. Drei Masken Verlag, Vienna/Berlin. Reprint: Der moderne Zweckbau. Ullstein Bauwelt Fundamente, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin, 1964; and Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 1998. Translated as Modern Functional Building, ed. & intro. Rosemarie H. Bletter. Getty, Oxford UP, Santa Monica, 1996.
- Behne, Adolf 1927. Neues Wohnen - Neues Bauen. Hesse & Becker, Leipzig.
- Behne, Adolf 1928. Eine Stunde Architektur. Stuttgart. Neuausgabe Berlin 1984
- Behne, Adolf 1994. Architekturkritik in der Zeit und über die Zeit hinaus: Texte 1913 - 1946. Herausgegeben von Haila Ochs. Basel, Boston, Berlin: Birkhäuser-Architektur-Bibliothek.
- Behne, Adolf 1998. Schriften zur Kunst. Ed. & postscript Cornelia Briel. Berlin: Gebr. Mann.
- Bohm, Arnd 1993. Artful Reproduction: Benjamin's Appropriation of Adolf Behne's `Das reproduktive Zeitalter' in the Kunstwerk Essay. The Germanic Review 68(4): 146-155.
- Bushart, Magdalena, ed. 2000. Adolf Behne. Essays zu seiner Kunst- und Architektur-Kritik. Berlin: Gebr. Mann.
- Gutschow, Kai Konstanty 2005. "The culture of criticism: Adolf Behne and the development of modern architecture in Germany, 1910-1914 /." Ph.D. diss., Columbia University.
- Lindner, Bernd 1992. 'Auf diesen Berg...' Adolf Behne - Vermitter der Moderne. In: Avantgarde und Publikum. Zur Rezeption avantgardistischer Kunst in Deutschland 1905-1933, ed. Henrike Junge. Cologne, Weimar, Vienna: Böhlau, pp. 7–15.
- Mertins, Detlef 1997. Transparencies Yet to Come: Sigfried Giedion and Adolf Behne. A + U 10(325) (Oct. 1997): 3-17.
- Schwartz, Frederic J. 1998. Form Follows Fetish: Adolf Behne and the Problem of Sachlichkeit. Oxford Art Journal 21(2): 45-77.
External links
- Translated from German wikipedia - :de:Adolf Behne
- Genealogy of Adolf Behne