ITTEN 1904-1908 Early Life

From 1904-1908, Itten trained Born: 1888, Südern-Linden, as an elementary school teacher, Died: 1967, Zürich, Switzerland where he taught using methods Education: Academy of Art, developed by the creator of the Style: and kindergarten concept, Friedrich : 1919-1922 Fröbel. It was during this time that he became exposed to the ideas of psychoanalysis.

Early on, Itten began forming his own theories on nurturing the creative spirit. Influenced by Forbel, he put an emphasis on creative expression and the natural tendency to learn through playing.

Portrait of the Artist, 1930 Featuring his iconic shaved head. (Top) Horizontal Vertical, 1915 Early work. Oil on canvas.

(Bottom) Orange and Blue-Green, 1957 Watercolor on paper.

1909-1912 1913-1915 Education Stuttgart Academy

In 1909 Itten enrolled at the École des From 1913-1915, Itten relocated to Beaux-Arts in . Unimpressed Stuttgart, Germany where he studied with the education he was receiving, at the Stuttgart Academy, under Adolf he moved to , where he studied Hölzel. Influenced by Hölzel, Itten The Meeting, 1916 natural science and mathematics, while adopted a series of basic shapes — Features geometric shapes also receiving a diploma in education at the line, the plane, the circle, and and a dominant spiral. the Bern-Hofwil Teachers’ Academy. the spiral — as a means of creation for his work. Planning to become a secondary school teacher, Itten continued to be drawn to the At this time, Itten became increasingly field of art, looking to finish his education. influenced by other abstract artists of the time such as Eugène Gilliard and Franz Cižek. 1916-1918 School

In 1916, after his first solo exhibition in Berlin, Itten moved to Vienna, where he started his own private art school. Creating a curriculum based on a textbook by Eugène Gilliard, Itten encouraged his students to explore their own emotions and experiment with color, materials, and form.

A pioneer of holistic art teaching, Itten was known for his use of gymnastic exercises at the beginning of class in order to relax his students and prepare them for the day.

Ländliches Fest, 1917 Oil on Canvas (Left) Unlearning Exercise, 1921 Starting class with a fresh perspective.

(Bottom) Bauhaus Group, 1919 1919-1923 A photo taken at the premier party for The Bauhaus the opening of the Bauhaus in .

In 1919, Bauhaus director invited Johannes Itten to speak on “Teaching of the Old Masters” at the opening of the Bauhaus in Weimar. After that, Itten attended the first meeting of the Council of Master’s, where it was decided that Itten would begin teaching the foundations course of the Bauhaus curriculum. Many of his students from Vienna followed Itten to the Bauhaus looking to continue their studies with him.

From 1919-1923, Itten was both the director of the Vokurs, or preliminary course, as well as the Master of Form for all workshops (except for the Ceramic, Bookbinding, and Printing).

One of the most important personalities of the early stages of the Bauhaus, Itten was highly revered by his students. He aimed to bring out the inner being in his students — their own rhythm and personality. 1919-1923 The Bauhaus Black Relationship, 1924 Watercolor and Ink on Paper.

In its early days, the Bauhaus was marked by an approach that art is in the craft and that all students must learn by starting with the basics — a belief shared by both Itten and Gropius. This however did not last long, as Itten’s increasing interest in the Mazdaznan cult, and his student’s devotion to his teachings, began to bother Gropius.

At this same time, Gropius was interested in taking the Bauhaus towards an industrial school focused on mass production. Itten rejected the idea of industry and making work for the “outside world”.

The disagreement between Itten and Gropius over the future direction of the Bauhaus ultimately resulted in Itten’s departure from the school after just 3 years. No matter how short, Itten’s time at the Bauhaus remained influential long after. 1919-1923 Vorkurs

The principles of Itten’s foundations course were based on ‘intuition and method’, or ‘subjective experience vs. objective recognition. The class focused on areas such as the study of materials, analysis of Old Masters, and life drawing, while also looking to theories on color, (Left) Student Coursework, 1920 Moses Mirkin’s Preliminary Design contrast, and form. coursework under Itten.

(Above) Bauhaus Curriculum, 1919 In developing his curriculum for Vorkurs, Itten’s Vorkurs represented the the “preliminary course” at the Bauhaus, Basic Design Course. Itten placed emphasis on spiritual openness and peace of mind as a means to free expression.

Today, many introductory courses at art schools and institutions around the world concentrate on the curriculum developed by Itten for his preliminary Bauhaus course.

Mazdaznan

(Top) Portrait of Itten, 1922 Itten wearing his ‘Bauhaus robe”. Itten observed and promoted a strict (Bottom) Mazdaznan Symbol . vegetarian diet and the practice of meditation, which he saw as the principal source of artistic inspiration.

Bauhaus student is recorded as saying that Itten, as a Master, was either highly revered, or profoundly hated. For those that admired Itten, many converted to Mazdaznan and adopted the cult’s beliefs. For a period of time, the Bauhaus canteen served only Mazdaznan approved food, and the Mazdaznan ideas began to permeate the Bauhaus classes. The followers would establish Mazdaznan gatherings, lectures, public exercises, and religious services on the Bauhaus campus.

After Itten’s departure from the Bauhaus in 1923, it is said that the Mazdaznan beliefs also retired from the school — although Itten himself did continue to practice. Followers of the group that were still in attendance re- dispersed themselves amongst the student body, abandoning the practice.

Color Theory

Within his lifelong exploration of color theory, Itten developed two formats for viewing the relationships within the color spectrum. His first, the Farbenkugel, also known as the Color Star, was a 2-D view of Phillipp Runge’s Color Sphere, which was also related to Munsell’s model.

Itten theorized seven types of color contrast which included: (1) contrast by , (2) contrast by value, (3) contrast by temperature, (4) contrast by complements (neutralization), (5) simultaneous contrast (from Chevreuil), (6) contrast by saturation (mixtures with gray), and (7) contrast by extension (from Goethe).

(Top) Farbenkugel (Color Sphere), 1921 12 tones in 7 light levels. Itten is also credited with having developed (Bottom) 12 Step Color Wheel the inspiration for seasonal — Starts with 3 primary colors, then Striped, 1934 secondary colors, followed by tertiary. and warm and cool color divisions — which Oil with Sand on Canvas. (Right) Simultaneous Contrast, 1961 is used widely throughout the cosmetic and From the Art of Color. fashion industries to this day. Spring, 1966 From the Four Seasons Series