Peter Behrens

Behrens was influenced by the developing Art Nouveau , the architect then turned to Deutscher Werkbund. He is one of the most influential designers to; Walter Gropius, Mies Van de Rohe and Le Corbusier.

Just like William Morris and Henry Van de Velde started as a painter and then continued as an architect. In 1907 he started working for AEG, which at the time it was a giant German electrical company. Behrens designed houses and factories but not only, he designed the company’s products and advertising materials.

He started off by designing his own house, with several simple geometric forms that were used such as; lines, circles, squares and triangles in a repetitive order which shows also in other later works.

Behrens is renowned for the AEG Turbine Hall which he designed. A concrete, steel and glass building which the use of big windows it provided daylight to the whole factory. Behrens design provided a neo-classical look to the industrial building. The factory was designed with such foresight, that it still serves the same purpose, several years later.

          He started working on advertising posters for the AEG Company. All of the above posters are made up of Roman elongated Calligraphy letters and simple geometric shapes that creates a certain illusion. Behrens designs are mostly two toned with the use of contrasting colours that brings the artwork to life, he also uses directional lines to create the focus point.

References:

• Alan Bowness, 2003. Modern European Art: From Impressionism to abstraction (World of Art). Edition. Thames & Hudson, London.
• Peter Behrens Biography - Infos - Art Market. 2013. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.behrens-peter.com/. [Accessed October 2013].