Vetro, colore, e luce: l’insegnamento di Josef Albers al Bauhaus

Nicholas Fox Weber, who has been director of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation for over 40 years, is an art critic and the author of numerous monographs on art and architecture.
Josef Albers (1888–1976) was born in Bottrop, Germany, into a family of humble origins. The major turning point in his life came in 1920 when he learnt of the existence of the Bauhaus. He on the Vorkurs (preparatory course) and turned out to be the oldest student – and perhaps also one of the poorest – at the school: as a result, much of the material he used to create his works was sourced, at no cost, from the rubbish tip in Weimar. Albers therefore created small mosaics using glass bottles, shards, cables and wires to bind the pieces together. Between 1922 and 1924, he also created a large stained-glass window for the reception area of the Bauhaus director’s office: it was a mosaic that shone with a vibrant red. The glass, the colour and the light of that stained-glass window immediately conveyed the energy and optimism that characterised the new institution. In 1923, Walter Gropius (director of the Bauhaus) appointed Josef Albers as a Master at the Bauhaus.
Conference of: Nicholas Fox Weber, curated by Alberto Giorgio Cassani
Organised by: Academy of Fine Arts of Ravenna