Johannes Itten (Father: Jakob Itten; Mother: Rosina Maria; Spouse: Anneliese Itten)
|Johannes Itten (1888–1967) was a Swiss expressionist painter, designer, and one of the most influential art educators of the 20th century. He is best known as a founding member of the Bauhaus school in Germany, where he created the “Vorkurs” or Preliminary Course, which remains the foundation of modern design education worldwide.
Itten was a deeply spiritual man, influenced by Mazdaznan (a fire cult based on Zoroastrianism). At the Bauhaus (1919–1923), he famously wore monastic robes and began his classes with breathing exercises and meditation to “loosen” his students’ creative energies. His teaching philosophy focused on the emotional and psychological properties of color, form, and texture.
His most enduring legacy is his rigorous study of color. He developed the Itten Color Wheel and defined seven distinct types of color contrast (such as contrast of hue, light-dark, and cold-warm) in his seminal book, The Art of Color (1961). Unlike more scientific theorists, Itten believed that color perception was subjective and deeply tied to the human spirit.
After leaving the Bauhaus due to ideological differences with Walter Gropius (who wanted to move toward industrial mass production while Itten favored individual craftsmanship), he ran his own art school in Berlin and later directed the Zurich School of Arts and Crafts and the Museum Rietberg. His theories on “seasonal color analysis” still influence the fashion and cosmetics industries today.
Active in others filds : Art Education (Bauhaus Master), Author (Color Theory), Textile Design, Museum Direction.
