Hermann Muthesius And Henry Van De Velde

Art and architecture showcase the longevity of mankind through their design and structure. Due to art and architectures’ cultural significance, every person involved in design-based movements have had their own theories as to how artists and architects should create and present their various masterpieces. In 1914, a German association of designers, artists, and architects, called the Deutscher Werkbund, opened their first exhibition in Cologne. The diversity of the buildings present at this exhibit were as varied as the ideology within the Werkbund. This difference in opinion was publicly displayed during the Werkbund’s July conference when two men, Hermann Muthesius and Henry Van de Velde, both tenaciously debated their thoughts on design, style, and the purpose of the Deutscher Werkbund. Hermann Muthesius

As presented by Conrads, Henry Van de Velde proclaimed that “Germany…has the great advantage of still possessing gifts which other, older, wearier peoples are losing: the gifts of invention, of brilliant personal brainwaves. And it would be nothing short of castration to tie down this rich, many sided, creative élan so soon” (30). Van de Velde, a Belgian in his origin, recognized the German ability to create dynamic works of art that communicated the overall spirit of the time; therefore, he felt it was wrong to lose that ability in an effort to establish a canon. Furthermore, Van de Velde believed that “the desire to see a standard type come into being before the establishment of a style is exactly like wanting to see the effect before the cause” (Conrads 30). He saw that by trying to aid the standardization process, the Werkbund would reduce their long-term international influence because a gradual process would be