BEHRENS, Peter

In 1909, Behrens and Anna Simons (1871-1951) designed the lettering of the inscription on the pediment of the Reichstag building in Berlin: ‘Dem deutschen Volke’.

In 1907 Behrens was called to Berlin as artistic adviser to AEG (Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft). The greatest achievement of the Berlin years was the incomparable series of product, graphic and architectural designs for AEG, with which Behrens created the world’s first corporate image. In the sphere of product design, this was achieved by offering a number of models based on various permutations of standardized parts, colours and finishes. This technique was applied to arc lamps, electric fans, electric clocks and, most successfully, to a range of electric kettles introduced in 1909.

Behrens was responsible not only for the product design and graphics of AEG but also for the factory buildings in which the firm’s products were made; these ranged from tiny switches to massive turbines. One of the earliest designs was for the celebrated turbine factory (1909) in Moabit, Berlin, which used an exposed hinged steel frame - designed with Karl Bernhard (b 1859) - and undecorated masonry cladding on the gable end to create one of the canonical statements of 20th-century architecture, in which transparency and the rhythms of the industrial process were combined with classical monumentality.

In 1907 Behrens was called to Berlin as artistic adviser to AEG (Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft). The greatest achievement of the Berlin years was the incomparable series of product, graphic and architectural designs for AEG, with which Behrens created the world’s first corporate image. In the sphere of product design, this was achieved by offering a number of models based on various permutations of standardized parts, colours and finishes. This technique was applied to arc lamps, electric fans, electric clocks and, most successfully, to a range of electric kettles introduced in 1909.

Behrens was responsible not only for the product design and graphics of AEG but also for the factory buildings in which the firm’s products were made; these ranged from tiny switches to massive turbines.

The greatest achievement of Behrens’s Berlin years was the incomparable series of product, graphic and architectural designs for AEG, with which Behrens created the world’s first corporate image. In the sphere of product design, this was achieved by offering a number of models based on various permutations of standardized parts, colours and finishes. This technique was applied to arc lamps, electric fans, electric clocks and, most successfully, to a range of electric kettles introduced in 1909.

The photo shows Behrens lights on historic buildings on the AEG site.

The success of his exhibitions in 1899 led to his appointment to the K�nstlerkolonie in Darmstadt by Ernst-Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt. With Joseph Maria Olbrich, he was a dominant artistic influence in the Darmstadt colony. In July 1900, work began on his own house there, which he had designed, together with furnishings and tableware.

The armchair and door are from the music room of the Behrens house in Darmstadt.

The picture shows a dining room display for an exhibition of modern interiors at the Wertheim Department Store in Berlin in 1902. It was one of twelve architect-designed rooms installed in the prominent German store; these rooms helped disseminate modern design to consumers. Behrens repeated the pattern of geometric forms on the furniture, lighting, wallpaper, and carpet of the room.

The set has grey lined d�cor, dinner cutlery, model 4800, and wine glasses, model Aegir.

Behrens designed this electric heater for AEG.

Behrens designed factories for AEG sites on the periphery of Berlin, including sheds for the locomotive factory and for the AEG Aeronautical Department (1913 and 1915 respectively; both at Hennigsdorf), and an important office and factory building (1915-16) for the Nationale Automobil Aktien-Gesellschaft (NAG), a subsidiary of AEG, at Obersch�neweide.

At the end of the 1890s, Behrens decided to abandon painting in favour of the applied arts. His first graphic works and designs for glass, porcelain, jewellery and furniture appeared in 1898 and 1899.

The picture shows goblets from a set, designed by Peter Behrens, made by Rheinische Glashutten AB.

The success of his exhibitions in 1899 led to his appointment to the K�nstler-Kolonie in Darmstadt by Ernst-Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt. In July 1900, work began on his own house there.

In 1899 the Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse established one of the leading centres of Jugendstil architectural, design, and decorative arts practice in Darmstadt. The Artists’ Colony brought together leading artists and craftsmen as a means of improving German public taste and endowing the contemporary applied and decorative arts with a sense of German identity. One of the main thrusts of the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony initiative was to move away from a dependency on foreign influences and reinvigorate quality standards in German design and decorative arts.

The creative personalities initially involved in the Artists’ Colony at Darmstadt were the fine artist and designer Hans Christiansen - invited by the Grand Duke to found the Colony - interior designer Patriz Huber, and weaver and embroiderer Paul B�rck. Soon they were joined by the Austrian Joseph Maria Olbrich and German Peter Behrens. An important part of the project was the building of several public buildings and artists’ houses, many of them designed by Olbrich.

The designers sought support from the Grand Duke for an exhibition in Darmstadt in 1901. Organized by Olbrich and displayed in several temporary exhibition buildings and the artists’ houses, the exhibition made a financial loss and drew some negative criticism, not least because the Colony was the subject of royal patronage. The exhibits were seen as exemplars of the ‘total work of art’ — coordinated architecture, interiors, furnishings, and applied arts.

At the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle the Darmstadt Room, designed by Olbrich, won a Gold Medal. The Artists’ Colony exhibited at the Turin Exposizione Internazionale d’Arte Decorativa Moderna of 1902, and the St Louis Exhibition of 1904. A ceramics factory was established in 1906, followed by a glass factory in 1908. However, the First World War brought the Darmstadt venture to an end.

The success of his exhibitions in 1899 led to his appointment to the K�nstler-Kolonie in Darmstadt by Ernst-Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt. In July 1900, work began on his own house there. This artist’s house, built for the 1901 exhibition, was the first designed by the painter and graphic artist Peter Behrens. The interior was also designed and furnished entirely according to his plans.

The three-storey villa architecture with an almost square floor plan has a striking, and at the same time innovative effect due to the red-brown iron clinker bricks and green-glazed facing bricks, unusual materials in this region. The light, unornamented plaster surfaces in between are a charming contrast to the unconventional use of these architectural ceramics. The tall curved gables in the north and west give the building an almost ecclesiastical character.

The main entrance faces the street prominently. The dark portal is set deep into the stepped clinker brick frame. Its ornamentation of stylised eagle wings refers to the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. An inscription above the window lintel in the west emphasises the pathos of this artist’s villa: “Be steady, my house, amid the roaring of the world”. From the dining room, one could step out onto a terrace, from which stairs led to the south-facing sloping terrain. Behrens also planned his garden as an extension of the house in unity with the architecture.

Down to the last detail, Peter Behrens was also responsible for the interior. The music room, with its heavy, dark furniture and elaborate interior design, was particularly striking. In the adjoining dining room, on the other hand, the white furniture and some deep red details brought a cheerful note to the Behrens House, where all rooms were decorated. Part of these furnishings is now shown at the Artists’ Colony Museum.

The Behrens House was damaged and burnt down in 1944. However, the outer walls, including the clinker pilaster strips and the green architectural ceramics, have been preserved.

View the plan of the ground floor.

The success of his exhibitions in 1899 led to his appointment to the K�nstler-Kolonie in Darmstadt by Ernst-Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt. In July 1900, work began on his own house there. This artist’s house, built for the 1901 exhibition, was the first designed by the painter and graphic artist Peter Behrens. The interior was also designed and furnished entirely according to his plans.

The three-storey villa architecture with an almost square floor plan has a striking, and at the same time innovative effect due to the red-brown iron clinker bricks and green-glazed facing bricks, unusual materials in this region. The light, unornamented plaster surfaces in between are a charming contrast to the unconventional use of these architectural ceramics. The tall curved gables in the north and west give the building an almost ecclesiastical character.

The main entrance faces the street prominently. The dark portal is set deep into the stepped clinker brick frame. Its ornamentation of stylised eagle wings refers to the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. An inscription above the window lintel in the west emphasises the pathos of this artist’s villa: “Be steady, my house, amid the roaring of the world”. From the dining room, one could step out onto a terrace, from which stairs led to the south-facing sloping terrain. Behrens also planned his garden as an extension of the house in unity with the architecture.

Down to the last detail, Peter Behrens was also responsible for the interior. The music room, with its heavy, dark furniture and elaborate interior design, was particularly striking. In the adjoining dining room, on the other hand, the white furniture and some deep red details brought a cheerful note to the Behrens House, where all rooms were decorated. Part of these furnishings is now shown at the Artists’ Colony Museum.

The Behrens House was damaged and burnt down in 1944. However, the outer walls, including the clinker pilaster strips and the green architectural ceramics, have been preserved.

View the plan of the ground floor.

The success of his exhibitions in 1899 led to his appointment to the K�nstler-Kolonie in Darmstadt by Ernst-Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt. In July 1900, work began on his own house there. This artist’s house, built for the 1901 exhibition, was the first designed by the painter and graphic artist Peter Behrens. The interior was also designed and furnished entirely according to his plans.

The three-storey villa architecture with an almost square floor plan has a striking, and at the same time innovative effect due to the red-brown iron clinker bricks and green-glazed facing bricks, unusual materials in this region. The light, unornamented plaster surfaces in between are a charming contrast to the unconventional use of these architectural ceramics. The tall curved gables in the north and west give the building an almost ecclesiastical character.

The main entrance faces the street prominently. The dark portal is set deep into the stepped clinker brick frame. Its ornamentation of stylised eagle wings refers to the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. An inscription above the window lintel in the west emphasises the pathos of this artist’s villa: “Be steady, my house, amid the roaring of the world”. From the dining room, one could step out onto a terrace, from which stairs led to the south-facing sloping terrain. Behrens also planned his garden as an extension of the house in unity with the architecture.

Down to the last detail, Peter Behrens was also responsible for the interior. The music room, with its heavy, dark furniture and elaborate interior design, was particularly striking. In the adjoining dining room, on the other hand, the white furniture and some deep red details brought a cheerful note to the Behrens House, where all rooms were decorated. Part of these furnishings is now shown at the Artists’ Colony Museum.

The Behrens House was damaged and burnt down in 1944. However, the outer walls, including the clinker pilaster strips and the green architectural ceramics, have been preserved.

View the plan of the ground floor.

During the 1920s, an international competition was launched for a modern synagogue for the Reform Judaism congregation; the competition was won by Peter Behrens, and the synagogue was constructed between 1928 and 1931.

The synagogue housed the Neolog (Reform Judaism) congregation of Zilina. Completed eight years before World War II, which almost obliterated the Jewish population of Slovakia, it has been called “the last Slovak synagogue”. Used for other purposes after the war, it was restored in 2011-17 and became a centre of arts.

The photo shows the eastern fa�ade of the synagogue after the restoration in 2017.

After World War I, Behrens completely reassessed his architectural language and abandoned the stereometric rationality and the classicism of his pre-war work. The I. G. Farben dye-works (1920-24) at H�chst was the most impressive product of his Expressionist phase. With its polychromy, clock tower, belfry and cathedral-like entrance hall (memorial hall), it was entirely in accord with the self-conscious medievalism that dominated radical architectural theory in Germany in the immediate post-war years.

The photo shows the memorial hall.

After World War I, Behrens completely reassessed his architectural language and abandoned the stereometric rationality and the classicism of his pre-war work. The I. G. Farben dye-works (1920-24) at H�chst was the most impressive product of his Expressionist phase. With its polychromy, clock tower, belfry and cathedral-like entrance hall (memorial hall), it was entirely in accord with the self-conscious medievalism that dominated radical architectural theory in Germany in the immediate post-war years.

The photo shows the vertical view of the entrance hall.

After World War I, Behrens completely reassessed his architectural language and abandoned the stereometric rationality and the classicism of his pre-war work. The I. G. Farben dye-works (1920-24) at H�chst was the most impressive product of his Expressionist phase. With its polychromy, clock tower, belfry and cathedral-like memorial hall, it was entirely in accord with the self-conscious medievalism that dominated radical architectural theory in Germany in the immediate post-war years.

The photo shows the internal walkway to the entrance hall lined with clinker bricks.

After World War I, Behrens completely reassessed his architectural language and abandoned the stereometric rationality and the classicism of his pre-war work. The I. G. Farben dye-works (1920-24) at H�chst was the most impressive product of his Expressionist phase. With its polychromy, clock tower, belfry and cathedral-like emtrance hall (memorial hall), it was entirely in accord with the self-conscious medievalism that dominated radical architectural theory in Germany in the immediate post-war years.

The photo shows a view from the west to the Behrens building with the tower and bridge.

In 1907 Peter Behrens designed a poster for the Allgemeine Elektrizitätsgesellschaft (AEG), representing a metal filament lamp emitting light.

Behrens regularly exhibited paintings and woodcuts in the 1890s. His colour woodcut The Kiss depicts a kissing couple, their faces framed and joined by voluptuous Jugendstil curves formed by their own tresses. This woodcut is from the periodical Pan, Vol. IV, no. 2 (Jul-Aug-Sept 1898)

At the end of the 1890s, Behrens decided to abandon painting in favour of the applied arts. His first graphic works and designs for glass, porcelain, jewellery and furniture appeared in 1898 and 1899.

The picture shows a vase, designed by Peter Behrens, made by Franz A. Mehlem, Bonn.