László Moholy-Nagy (Austria, 1895 - Chicago, 1946). Photographer, painter, Bauhaus professor and art theorist. At the beginning of his career, Moholy studied law. Unfortunately, due to World War I, he had to abandon his studies. At the end of the war, he decided to dedicate himself completely to art, attending classes and studying the old masters such as Rembrandt, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh and practitioners of Cubism and Futurism.
In 1920, in Berlin, he began his career as a photographer together with his wife Lucía Schulz, doing various jobs. In addition, he was also interested in painting. He began to paint abstract canvases, in which geometric shapes and bands of color form architectural structures without a body in space. In 1922, he participated in his first exhibition at the avant-garde gallery Der Sturm in Berlin, which included works made from industrial materials.
In 1923, the Bauhaus appointed Moholy-Nagy director of the metallurgy workshop, until 1928. In this period he turned to the study of the effects of balance and pressure of materials and became the precursor of Bauhaus photography. He was also a pioneer in the Bauhaus series of books with Walter Gropius and collaborated with the designer Herbert Bayer on Bauhaus materials typography. In 1928 he resorted to more commercial artistic activities, such as advertising design, typography and stage design.
Later, in 1934, due to the rise of the Nazis to power, Moholy-Nagy moved to Amsterdam where he worked with artists and architects of De Stijl, experimented with color photography and gave frequent lectures.
In 1937, Moholy-Nagy moved to Chicago at the invitation of the Association of Arts and Industries, where he took the direction of a design school created by himself, the "New Bauhaus". Unfortunately, it did not succeed and it closed its doors the following year. In spite of it, it reopened the school in 1939, in this case called Institute of Design, that today is part of the Institute of Technology of Illinois.
Finally, Moholy-Nagy died of leukemia in 1946, in Chicago.
In 1920, in Berlin, he began his career as a photographer together with his wife Lucía Schulz, doing various jobs. In addition, he was also interested in painting. He began to paint abstract canvases, in which geometric shapes and bands of color form architectural structures without a body in space. In 1922, he participated in his first exhibition at the avant-garde gallery Der Sturm in Berlin, which included works made from industrial materials.
In 1923, the Bauhaus appointed Moholy-Nagy director of the metallurgy workshop, until 1928. In this period he turned to the study of the effects of balance and pressure of materials and became the precursor of Bauhaus photography. He was also a pioneer in the Bauhaus series of books with Walter Gropius and collaborated with the designer Herbert Bayer on Bauhaus materials typography. In 1928 he resorted to more commercial artistic activities, such as advertising design, typography and stage design.
Later, in 1934, due to the rise of the Nazis to power, Moholy-Nagy moved to Amsterdam where he worked with artists and architects of De Stijl, experimented with color photography and gave frequent lectures.
In 1937, Moholy-Nagy moved to Chicago at the invitation of the Association of Arts and Industries, where he took the direction of a design school created by himself, the "New Bauhaus". Unfortunately, it did not succeed and it closed its doors the following year. In spite of it, it reopened the school in 1939, in this case called Institute of Design, that today is part of the Institute of Technology of Illinois.
Finally, Moholy-Nagy died of leukemia in 1946, in Chicago.
