Lot 892 D

From 1924 Xanti Schawinsky studied at the Bauhaus in Weimar, moving to Dessau in 1925 with the Bauhaus stage group of Kurt Schmidt. Here Oskar Schlemmer and Walter Gropius discussed the re-establishment of a theatre department, for which Schawinsky, especially interested in geometrical forms and architecture, along with Schlemmer and the head of preliminary course (“Vorkursleiter”), performed in October for a promotional event of the Bauhaus in a serenade with three figures from the famous “Triadic Ballet” of Oskar Schlemmer (see also: Barbara Paul, Biografie, in exhib. cat. Xanti Schawinsky. Malerei, Bühne, Grafikdesign, Fotografie, Bauhaus-Archive Berlin 1986, p. 11).
This influence is clearly evident in the five costume designs offered here (lots 892-896). In 1925 Schawinsky also designed scenic pieces with two or more characters, for example for the toy ballet “Peterchens Mondfahrt” (see exhib. cat. Berlin, 1986, op.cit., p 82). It is possible that these meticulous and, in parts, award-winning designs were created as part of the preparations for the winter festival of 1925, organised by the Bauhaus and the Burg Giebichenstein. The figure “Sachte Neulichkeit”, lit. “Gentle Newlyness”, an anagram alluding to the virulent 1920s art movement “Neue Sachlichkeit” or “New Objectivity”, was used one year later by the very witty Schawinsky in his painting 'Der Parachutist' (Illus. exhib. cat. Berlin 1986, op.cit., p 33).