I have recently attended a reception celebrating the 100 centenary of the International architectural style as developed in the famous and very influential Bauhaus school in Germany. The reception was held in the Bauhaus Center in Tel Aviv. The importance of the event brought the German ambassador to Israel and highly ranked German architects as guests.
The Bauhaus architectural style played a key role in the urban growth of Israel during the years 1930 – 1960, particularly that of Tel Aviv.
That style was developed as a reaction to the economic collapse of Europe and particularly Germany after world war I. Its main objective was to provide inexpensive simple and functional buildings while avoiding needless “Pre War” decorations.
Many famous Jewish architects In Berlin and other German cities adopted the new style and built very famous buildings in Germany which were based on the Bauhaus style. Following the rise of the Nazi regime, the Bauhaus style was condemned as a Jewish decadent architectural style. Tens of thousand Jews fled Germany and immigrated to Palestine, among them the most talented and known Bauhaus architect.
The simplicity of the inexpensive Bauhaus style fitted very well the urgent need to provide housing to hundreds of thousands of Jewish immigrants from Europe. With the lead of the best former German architects over 4,000 Bauhaus buildings were built in Tel Aviv between 1933 and the beginning of the 1960s. Other cities partially adopted the new style, such as Haifa and Jerusalem. Prior to 1948, many buildings with an Arabic touch were built in Jaffa.
Today Tel Aviv (as well as Miami in the USA) has the most impressive collections of Bauhaus architecture in the world. A few years ago Tel Aviv was recognized as an architectural cultural heritage by UNESCO and granted the title “The White City” after its 4,000 white well preserved Bauhaus buildings.
In my many Digital Free Hand painting journeys in Tel Aviv I came across tens of Bauhaus buildings. I have been inspired by the capability to blend simplicity with beauty, and also by the knowledge that I was walking in a huge cultural museum. I hope that I was successful in expressing the beauty of the Bauhaus style.
congrats for the broad view of your Art❗️