1898 The Vereinigten Werkstätten für Kunst im Handwerk (United Workshops for Art in Craftsmanship) in Munich and the Dresdner Werkstätten für Handwerkskunst (Dresden Workshops for Handicraft Art) are founded based on the English model. The two successful enterprises merge a good decade later to become the Deutsche Werkstätten (German Workshops). They mark the beginning of a workshop movement that aims at a “room art” inspired by Jugendstil. A number of creative talents come together in Munich, including Peter Behrens, August Endell, Hermann Obrist, Josef Maria Olbrich, Bruno Paul and Richard Riemerschmid. In Dresden, artisan and idealist Karl Schmidt sets out to turn his company into a real-life utopia. He relocates to a suburb called Hellerau and erects his enterprise in a garden town designed by architect Riemerschmid. (other foundings: in 1899 the Werkstätten für angewandte Kunst [Workshops for Applied Art] by Henry van de Velde in Berlin, in 1900 the Saalecker Werkstätten [Saaleck Workshops] by architect and “homeland preservation” pioneer Paul Schultze- Naumburg, in 1902 the Königliche Lehr- und Versuchswerkstätten [Royal Teaching and Experimentation Workshops] in Stuttgart, in 1903 the Wiener Werkstätte. – The scandal set off by the Jugendstil facade of the Elvira photo studio in Munich shows how strongly Jugendstil is polarizing the public. – The first association for Freikörperkultur (nudist society) is established in Essen. – Following Bismarck’s death, hundreds of commemorative towers are erected, resulting in nothing less than a standardized “serial product”.

 

1899 An artists’ colony is established in Darmstadt on the Mathildenhöhe. Its initiator, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse, a close relative of the Queen of England, is familiar with the art reform movement in Britain and a friend of the Viennese Secessionists. – Dresden creates its own variation on the theme of the ideal home. In the Volksthümlichen Ausstellung für Haus und Herd (Folk Exhibition for Home and Hearth) the focus is on the simple things in life. The Deutsche Kunstausstellung (German Art Exhibition) achieves fame based on a music room designed by Richard Riemerschmid. His Musikzimmerstuhl (Music Room Chair) is regarded as an early turning point in formal innovation.

 

1900 At the otherwise mostly conservative World Exposition in Paris, the German reformists walk off with several gold medals. The turbulent Jugendstil, which is already beginning to ebb, has put an end to  historicism. But the transformation of taste is not yet complete. The motto is now reason and Sachlichkeit – objectivity. – The magazine Kunstwart publishes Ten Commandments for Furnishing the Home. Number one: “Furnish your home practically!” – Monte Veritá in the Swiss canton of Ticino serves as refuge for “life reformers”, a colourful bourgeois subculture which, based on an urge for more naturalness, develops counter-concepts to the Wilhelminian spirit of subjugation. These range from expressive dance and nudism to natural medicine and reform dress, vegetarianism and rambling romanticism. The Werkstätten are also part of the sphere of influence of this alternative scene. – Henry van de Velde moves to Berlin. At the German Tailors’ Conference, the artist, whose works are now in high demand, speaks on the topic of “reform dress”. – A reformhaus health food store opens in Wuppertal.

 

1901 The model colony founded two years earlier on the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt shows furnished homes as total works of art in an exhibition titled A Document of German Art. Peter Behrens’ house is deemed particularly successful. – The first volume of Kulturarbeiten (Culture Works) by Paul Schultze-Naumburg strikes a chord with his contemporaries. In his book, the conservative designer denounces the excesses of historicism.

 

1902 The Dürer Association in Dresden demands the “aesthetic education of the people” and picks up some 300,000 followers in only ten years, who at the same time form the readership of the magazine Kunstwart. – Henry van de Velde relocates to Weimar, where he soon becomes director of the Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Arts & Crafts), which will give birth to the Bauhaus. – The Jugendstil pavilion designed by Peter Behrens at the International Exhibition of Applied Art in Turin makes headlines. – Architect Alfred Grenander, Berliner by choice like Behrens and van de Velde, founds the Werkring, an association for progressive applied arts.

 

1903 In the course of a design reform from above, Peter Behrens becomes director of the Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Arts & Crafts) in Düsseldorf. – The thermos and sparkplug are just two of his many inventions. – A black dance troupe from the USA introduces the Cakewalk to Berlin. Ragtime rhythms bring swing to the entertainment industry and start to rock the rigid rules of etiquette.

 

1904 At the World Exposition in St. Louis, Germany and its reformists are once again a hit. The presentation conceived by Alfred Grenander is a major success for the “artists of the interior”, some of whom first make each other’s acquaintance on American soil.

 

1905 Vehement debates take place in Germany on what a “beautiful home” should look like. – Richard Riemerschmid, by now a prominent figure, works for the Meissen porcelain factory, the Villeroy & Boch earthenware industry in the Westerwald and for WMF. – Kitchen maker Poggenpohl produces furniture in simple Werkstätten style. – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe moves to Berlin. – In Dresden, the artists’ group Die Brücke begins to paint in a more “straightforward and genuine” manner. – Einstein formulates his theory of relativity.

 

1906 At the III. Deutsche Kunstgewerbe-Ausstellung (Third German Applied Arts Exhibition) in Dresden, Riemerschmid’s machine-made furniture is displayed, an extensive program designed for the first time for factory production.

 

1907 The Deutscher Werkbund is the first German design association to bring artists and manufacturers together – a model that is then adopted in other countries such as England and Sweden. This educational initiative is driven forward by means of publications and exhibitions, which take place in 1912 in the USA, 1914 in Cologne and 1927 in Stuttgart. Since the aim is also to promote exports, chauvinism is rampant, as demonstrated by fighting words such as “Deutsche Wertarbeit” – high-quality German craftsmanship. – Peter Behrens, a co-founder of the Werkbund, becomes artistic adviser to AEG in Berlin. For the electric company, whose state-of-the-art products have up to that time been cloaked in historicizing styles, the pioneer of industrial design develops a simply designed product range that lend it a more streamlined corporate identity. This comprehensive program is a world premiere.

 

1908 Bruno Paul designs the first Typenmöbel, or modular furniture, a term the reformers adopt as their own. – In how-to books such as Wohnung und Hausrat. Beispiele neuzeitlicher Wohnräume und ihrer
Ausstattung (The Household and Its Contents. Examples of Modern Interiors and Furnishings) Werkstätten products are recommended. – The book Das Haus in der Sonne (The House in the Sun), in which Swedish painter Carl Larsson idealizes the rural family lifestyle, reflects the state of the German psyche.

 

1910 A furniture exhibition of the functional “German school” at Paris’ Grand Palais receives kudos in the local press. Only France’s government reacts negatively and, fearing the dominance of the neighbouring country, postpones the applied arts exhibition scheduled for 1915. – Historicism survives in the form of “Stilmöbel”, such as that on view in the German contribution to the Word Exposition in Brussels.

 

1911 The German Werkstätten commission 20 artists to create designs for Das Deutsche Hausgerät, a modular furniture program of a scope never before witnessed. The furniture is designed to appeal to all layers of society. – The Bildungsanstalt für Musik und Rhythmus (Educational Institute for Music and Rhythm) established in Hellerau becomes the cradle of Modern Dance. – Walter Gropius receives a contract from the Fagus Works in Alfeld near Hanover to build a factory that will come to be considered the archetype of functionalism. – The Tango wave sweeps Europe.

 

1912 The Werkbund Annuals book series is launched (until 1920). – An exhibition of over 1,000 objects organized by the Werkbund tours the USA. This is the largest-scale design campaign to date. – The WK association for “Wohnungskunst” (home art), inspired by the Werkstätten and supplied by the Behr company, provides stylistic reform with a further commercial foothold. – Exhibitions such as Gediegenes Gerät fürs Haus (Tasteful Home Furnishings) in Dresden-Hellerau or the Wohnungsausstellung (Home Exhibition) in Bielefeld convey the new reserve in home furnishings.

 

1914 The Werkbund Exhibition in Cologne, an imposing showcase of the new wave in design, has to close early due to the outbreak of world war. Many intellectuals are infected with war fever. – The steel helmet, a remarkably functional design, comes to symbolize the German military.

 

1915 The Deutsches Warenbuch (German Book of Goods), which is like a travel guide to exemplary products, ennobles basic forms. – In the midst of the war, the Werkbund puts on a show of German furniture in London, and later in Basel, Bern and Copenhagen.

 

1917 Werkbund co-founder Paul Schultze-Naumburg designs the Cecilienhof in Potsdam for the Crown Prince and his wife, a 176-room palace in the English cottage style. The Werkstätten have now made it to the top – the imperial household. However, in a population forced to subsist on starvation rations, this multimillion-mark project prompts indignation rather than admiration. – Henry van de Velde leaves Germany after being subject to xenophobic indignities.

 

1918 The First World War ends with capitulation and revolution.