Bauhaus and Vkhutemas: the parallel lines of Modernism

At the beginning of the 20th century, the two schools revolutionized artistic education and industrial design: the Bauhaus in Germany and Vkhutemas in the Soviet Union. Both were born in harsh and tumultuous contexts such as wars, revolutions, and social transformations. Together, they also shared the common goal of shaping a new human being through interdisciplinary, collective, and political teaching. On one side, the Bauhaus focused on efficiency and industrial production; while Vkhutemas valued the social impact in a creative manner.

The Bauhaus established itself as a global icon of modernism, widely documented and celebrated; while Vkhutemas was silenced by Soviet censorship and forgotten for decades outside its country of origin. Nonetheless, its legacy is marked by innovation in architecture, design, and pedagogical methods—revealing a creative power that rivals its German counterpart.

Foundations and Initial Concepts

Bauhaus: Founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus emerged from the merger of the Saxony-Weimar School of Arts and the School of Applied Arts. Its manifesto proposed overcoming the division between art and craft, and reviving the collaborative spirit of medieval guilds—the "Bauhütten"—that worked together to build cathedrals. This collective and interdisciplinary idea would shape the entire structure of the school. The artist Lyonel Feininger was responsible for the iconic cover of Gropius's manifesto, illustrated with a stylized image of a soaring gothic cathedral.

In a way, Gropius saw in these guilds a utopia, while what Bauhaus should be: an art school where painters, sculptors, architects, and craftsmen would work side by side, dissolving various disciplinary barriers. Interdisciplinarity—marked by different fields of knowledge that connect and work together to solve a problem or create something new—was at the heart of the teaching proposal, showing a critique of old academic schools and, at the same time, a response to the new demands of industry.

Vkhutemas: Officially created in 1920, in the context of the post-Russian Revolution, Vkhutemas (Russian acronym for Higher Art and Technology Studios) succeeded the State Free Studios (GSHM), which had brought together previously elitist institutions such as the Stroganov School of Applied Arts and the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture. The mission of the new school was to train artists and technicians for the construction of socialism, breaking traditional hierarchies and promoting a more open pedagogy, with classes guided by the same instructor throughout the training process.

Methods and Disciplines

Bauhaus: Although architecture had been an ideal from the start, it was only formally taught from 1927. The school grew intuitively, with Gropius attracting diverse names that, in his view, embodied the spirit of the school. One of the first masters was Johannes Itten, a mystic and vegetarian adherent of Mazdaznanism, who designed the preparatory course (Vorkurs), with a strong emphasis on intuition, perception of contrasts, and the sensitive use of forms and colors. Later, Gropius would invite Wassily Kandinsky, who would teach classes on the theory of form and color. Theater also played a central role, particularly with Oskar Schlemmer, whose "Triadic Ballet" explored the relationship between body, space, and geometry.

Vkhutemas: The school implemented a systematic and scientifically oriented program. Architect Nikolai Ladovsky led a rationalist pedagogy based on spatial perception and psychology. His approach, deeply influenced by psychoanalysis and the idea that space was the "basic material of architecture," included courses like "Space," "Color," "Form," and "Graphics." Students worked with physical models before moving on to technical drawings, fostering three-dimensional thinking and the creative use of unconventional materials. Ladovsky would also found the ASNOVA (Association of New Architects) to disseminate his principles.

Production and Application

Bauhaus: With the aim of preparing production for industry, Gropius established a clear rule: to reduce the number of parts in objects to the minimum necessary. This established the principles of what would later be called the "Bauhaus style": functionality, simplicity, basic geometric shapes, and primary colors. In 1923, the school organized a major public exhibition in Weimar, whose highlight was the Haus Am Horn, a model house designed by Adolf Meyer from sketches by George Muche. Another milestone was the famous Wassily chair, created by Marcel Breuer with metal tubes inspired by bicycle handlebars, which synthesized the ideals of the school: lightness, material economy, and rationalized design for mass production.

Vkhutemas: The school developed departments such as Dermetfak (a merger of woodworking and metallurgy), focused on industrial design. There, professors like Rodchenko, Lavinsky, Tatlin and Lissitsky trained the first Soviet industrial designers in an avant-garde and experimental environment. Projects ranged from foldable and multifunctional furniture to public showcases, everyday objects, and installations for parades and public demonstrations. The focus was always utilitarian and social. However, the lack of manufacturing infrastructure and the lack of official recognition for the profession of designer made it difficult for these students to enter the job market.

Recognition and Conflicts

Bauhaus: In Weimar, the school coexisted with the traditional Academy of Arts, but the contrast with the conservative values of the city caused tensions. The students—with bohemian looks and what were considered "eccentric" attitudes—shocked the local population. Political pressures led to the transfer of the school to Dessau in 1925, where Gropius designed new facilities that embodied modernist ideals: structural clarity, functionality, and rationalism. There, the school thrived: modern workshops, an auditorium, dining hall, and student dormitories created an ecosystem conducive to creativity. The colorist Hinnerk Scheper managed the color scheme of the buildings and interiors.

Vkhutemas: In 1925, the school shone at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris, where the Soviet pavilion designed by Konstantin Melnikov was acclaimed by Le Corbusier as the only building worthy of attention. The event also included a model workers' club created by Rodchenko and his students. Meanwhile, disputes grew between Ladovsky's rationalists and the constructivists, such as the Vesnin brothers and Ginzburg. Nevertheless, the school went through one of its best periods under the direction of Vladimir Favorsky, a respected theorist who, although opposed to constructivism, promoted an integrated and humanistic approach to artistic training.

Changes in Direction

Bauhaus: In 1928, Gropius left the school. The Swiss Hannes Meyer, a more pragmatic Marxist architect, took over and reoriented the school towards producing goods accessible to the masses, such as foldable furniture, wall coverings with geometric patterns, and multifunctional utensils. His projects emphasized standardization, ergonomics, and cost-effectiveness. However, his political positions sparked resistance, and he was replaced in 1930 by Mies van der Rohe, who attempted to preserve the school but faced growing hostility from the Nazi regime. In 1933, the Bauhaus was permanently closed in Berlin.

Vkhutemas: In 1930, the school was renamed VKhUTEIN and began to suffer direct government interventions, which demanded rapid technical training to fuel the country's accelerated industrialization. This disrupted the hybrid model of art and technique that the school maintained. Departments were dismantled, courses terminated, and pedagogical autonomy suppressed. Architect Ivan Leonidov, one of the school's brightest students, designed the visionary (and never-built) Lenin Institute, which would later influence architects like Rem Koolhaas. Meanwhile, Ladovsky set up his psychokinetic laboratory, focused on perceptual and spatial tests as the basis for architectural design.

Legacy and Difference in Reach

The Bauhaus established itself as synonymous with global modernism due to its intense editorial output (Bauhausbücher), its marketed objects, exhibitions, and the international prestige of its members such as Gropius, Klee, Moholy-Nagy and Kandinsky. The school also had influential allies like Einstein, Chagall and Schoenberg. Even after the school closed, Gropius continued to promote it as a universal pedagogical model capable of transcending national and temporal boundaries.

On the other hand, Vkhutemas had an equally profound but much less recognized impact. The effects of Stalinist censorship, forced restructurings, and lack of international exposure prevented its legacy from consolidating outside the Soviet context. However, its influence can be seen in post-war social architecture, political graphic design, and urban utopias of the 20th century. Only in recent decades has its value been re-evaluated and celebrated, showing that it, like the Bauhaus, was a revolutionary force in art, architecture, and design.

The parallel history of the Bauhaus and Vkhutemas reveals two fundamental creative poles of modernism. Despite ideological and contextual differences, both profoundly transformed artistic education and envisioned new futures for art, architecture, and industrial design. While the Bauhaus became a global symbol, Vkhutemas, with its conceptual and experimental richness, is beginning to receive the recognition it deserves. Together, these schools represent an extraordinary chapter in the history of human creativity during times of radical transformation.