Marianne Brandt

Marianne Brandt

Designer and photographer Marianne Brandt

Early Years and Artistic Training

Marianne Brandt (1893–1983) was a seminal designer, photographer and Bauhaus pioneer. Born Marianne Liebe in Chemnitz she grew up as the youngest of three daughters in a middle-class home, surrounded by art, music, and literature. After initially studying painting and sculpture at a private art school in Weimar she was accepted into the Academy of Fine Arts where she studied painting under Fritz Mackensen and Robert Weise and sculpture under Richard Engelmann. In 1919Liebe she married the Norwegian painter Erik Brandt and undertook a year-long study trip to France.

Groundbreaking Work at the Bauhaus

Marianne Brandt's groundbreaking work at the Bauhaus in Weimar began in 1923. Under the influence of László Moholy-Nagy Brandt was one of the few women able to work in the metal workshop, instead of in the weaving workshop. After Bauhaus's relocation to Dessau Brandt designed the first lighting fixtures for the new Bauhaus building, developed a wide variety of objects for companies such as Körting & Mathiesen (Kandem) in Leipzig and Schwintzer & Gräff in Berlin, and in 1928 briefly took over management of the metal workshop. A rare position for a Bauhaus female to take on. After receiving her Bauhaus Diploma in 1929, she worked in Walter Gropius's architectural office on the interior design of the Dammerstock Estate in Karlsruhe – one of the most important examples of the New Building movement, alongside the Weissenhof in Stuttgart. She then headed the design department of the Ruppelwerke in Gotha until 1932.

Post-Bauhaus Era and Challenges During National Socialism

During National Socialism Marianne Brandt's work was defamed as "degenerate," which largely brought her work to a standstill. Although she became a member of the Reich Chamber of Culture in 1939, she did not join the Nazi Party. After her divorce from Erik Brandt she retreated to her parents' home in Chemnitz and worked there as a freelance designer. Her experimental photography, with which she took a socially critical view of the world, remained an important form of expression. In 1949, Mart Stam appointed her as a lecturer at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and, until 1954, also taught at the Academy of Applied Arts in Berlin-Weißensee. Her most famous designs include the Bauhaus ceiling light DMB 26, which is now produced by Tecnolumen, and her iconic coffee and tea service, which is considered a milestone in modern design.