Max Burchartz
Encyclopedia
Max Hubert Innocenz Maria Burchartz (1887 – 1961) was a German
photographer.
, at that time experimenting with impressionism
but left the academy to join the First World War
. After the War he withdrew to Blankenhain
and resumed painting. His paintings reflected the quiet, rural life of Blankenhain, but maintained abstract influences, (e.g. Strasse in Blankenhain).
on a still-life course at the Bauhaus
in Weimar
, a break from his past work and turned him toward the 'modern trend', which was from then on expressed in a constructional style. While at the Bauhaus, he also worked as a translator.
and color design of the building. Artistic and economic success soon followed. The first customer of the agency was the Bochumer association. Burchartz developed a new layout style that blended typography, photography, and photo collages.
In 1926 Burchartz began expanding his artistic career. His subject matter grew and he began to sketch furniture along with his previous subjects. He also began working for the German Work Federation and became an active journalist. Burchartz began working for a company called Wehag that made door handles and fittings. He created many drafts for the company and shaped the development of the enterprise.
In April 1927, Burchartz finally received a degree in typography at the Folkwang Schule. Later that year he joined the architect Alfred Fischer, who built churches and the Hans Sachs house. Burchartz developed a color control system for the corridors of the house and thereby created the (presumed) first example of applied Signaletic in a public building. In other words, each floor is assigned one of the primary colors and labelled 'red floor, green floor, etc...'. After World War II they were painted over and forgotten and the style was not 'rediscovered' until the 90's.
.
and Anton Stankowski
, he never received the same fame. Many of today's communication designs, such as the color control system, are based on the work of Max Burchartz.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
photographer.
Life
Max Burchartz was the son of a fabric manufacturer, Otto Burchartz and his wife Maria. After his basic schooling he received training in his father's weaving mill and studied at a textile technical school as well as an art school. He studied advertising and art and in 1907 started studying at an art academy in DüsseldorfDüsseldorf
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...
, at that time experimenting with impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
but left the academy to join the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. After the War he withdrew to Blankenhain
Blankenhain
Blankenhain is a town in the Weimarer Land district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 14 km south of Weimar....
and resumed painting. His paintings reflected the quiet, rural life of Blankenhain, but maintained abstract influences, (e.g. Strasse in Blankenhain).
Meeting with the modern trend
In 1922 Burchartz worked with Theo van DoesburgTheo van Doesburg
Theo van Doesburg was a Dutch artist, practicing in painting, writing, poetry and architecture. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl.-Biography:-Early life:...
on a still-life course at the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
, a break from his past work and turned him toward the 'modern trend', which was from then on expressed in a constructional style. While at the Bauhaus, he also worked as a translator.
Ascent into the Ruhr District
In 1924 Burchartz moved to the Ruhr District where he set up the first modern advertising agency in Germany with Johannes Canis on November 1, 1924. He dedicated himself to the new typographyTypography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
and color design of the building. Artistic and economic success soon followed. The first customer of the agency was the Bochumer association. Burchartz developed a new layout style that blended typography, photography, and photo collages.
In 1926 Burchartz began expanding his artistic career. His subject matter grew and he began to sketch furniture along with his previous subjects. He also began working for the German Work Federation and became an active journalist. Burchartz began working for a company called Wehag that made door handles and fittings. He created many drafts for the company and shaped the development of the enterprise.
In April 1927, Burchartz finally received a degree in typography at the Folkwang Schule. Later that year he joined the architect Alfred Fischer, who built churches and the Hans Sachs house. Burchartz developed a color control system for the corridors of the house and thereby created the (presumed) first example of applied Signaletic in a public building. In other words, each floor is assigned one of the primary colors and labelled 'red floor, green floor, etc...'. After World War II they were painted over and forgotten and the style was not 'rediscovered' until the 90's.
The Third Reich
After Hitler seized power, Burchartz joined the Nazi Party, hoping to maintain his position at the Folkwang Hochschule. During this time, he made many trips for his photography and made prints of industrial subject matter. (e.g. 1933 Sailors Soldiers Comrades). Between 1933 and 1939 Burchartz worked for the Forkardt company for whom he sketched "the Book of Stretching" in 1939. The book was an opinion book about "Handspannfutter". Between 1935 and 1936 he also sketched folders for the Donar company, which, like the Wehag company, made door handles. He voluntarily joined the German army which he remained in until the end of the war. At the end of the war he found himself in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
A New Start
In 1949, Burchartz began working at the Folkwang Academy as a professor for the first year students. He taught the students universal art ideas and the ideas of holistic designs. In 1953 he wrote his first work of art theory, "Allegory of the Harmony" and also an extension of the piece, "Design Theory". In this time he also created collages and framed developed with new materials such as raster foils, plastic foils, Resopal, and wall carpets. On January 31, 1961 Max Burchartz died. A year after his death a book of his titled, "School of Looking" surfaced.Influence on art today
Although Burchartz can be considered the pioneer of modern design and can be compared to older artists such as Peter BehrensPeter Behrens
Peter Behrens was a German architect and designer. He was important for the modernist movement, as several of the movements leading names worked for him when they were young.-Biography:Behrens attended the Christianeum Hamburg from September 1877 until Easter 1882...
and Anton Stankowski
Anton Stankowski
Anton Stankowski was a German graphic designer, photographer and painter. He developed an original Theory of Design and pioneered Constructive Graphic Art. Typical Stankowski designs attempt to illustrate processes or behaviours rather than objects...
, he never received the same fame. Many of today's communication designs, such as the color control system, are based on the work of Max Burchartz.