#ise gropius

[nobrashfestivity]

Ise Gropius sitting in a B3 Marcel Breuer chair at the Bauhaus wearing a mask designed by Oskar Schlemmer, 1926.

[germanpostwarmodern]

In May 1954 Ise and Walter Gropius upon the invitation of the Rockefeller Foundation set out for a three month voyage to Japan, an intense and crammed trip that Ise comprehensively documented in travelogues and letters to friends and family. A journalist by profession Ise after marrying Gropius, as per normal in that day and age, gave up her job and became the master’s wife and secretary. But as „Cooking Up Dinner Speeches: Ise Gropius in Japan“, edited by Almut Grunewald and published recently by GTA Verlag, shows, this is only one half of Ise Gropius’s story: in fact, she was much more than Walter Gropius’s wife and companion but a pivotal factor for his public and literary appearance. Not only did she „cook up dinner speeches“ for her husband during the Japan trip but she also redacted his writings and oversaw publications since the Bauhaus years, a fact that is duly mentioned in the literature but never yielded focused research as Almut Grunewald emphasizes in her brilliant essay „Ise and Walter Gropius: Work and Teamwork““. Their first collaborative project that also bears Ise’s name was the „Bauhaus 1919-1928“ exhibition at the MoMA in New York in 1938 where she appeared alongside Gropius and Herbert Bayer as editor of the exhibition catalogue. Against this background one can gauge the actual and regularly unmentioned contribution of Ise Gropius to the overall historiography of both her husband and the Bauhaus.

That she indeed was a pointed and mindful writer prove the facsimiles of her letters and travelogues reproduced in the volume and annotated by the editor: using different sources like newspapers, travel guides and history books she paints a comprehensive (yet idealized) picture of Japanese culture that includes observations of everyday living, fashion, cooking, depictions of plants and gardens just as well as technical architectural information she received first-hand in discussions with experts. Compared with Walter’s brief postcards sent during the Japan voyage, Ise’s accounts are of course way more comprehensive but also provide insights into the relationships she forged with the wives of architects, artists and designers with whom she discussed their roles and remained in contact with afterwards.

It was high time to shed light on the woman behind Walter Gropius’s fame and legacy and „Cooking Up Dinner Speeches“ finally lets Ise Gropius hit the limelight. A highly recommended read!

[fragrantblossoms]

Walter Gropius. Trip to Yugoslavia: Ise Gropius lies on a balcony wall, 1934.

Walter or Ise Gropius. Trip to Yugoslavia: Donkeys in the landscape, 1934.

[davidhudson]

Walter Gropius, May 18, 1883 – July 5, 1969.

With his wife, Ise.

[portraitorieneted]

Ise Gropius - Self Portrait

[fragrantblossoms]

Walter Gropius (att.). Waterfall of the Navasupai Indians / Grand Canyon, Arizona, 1928.

[seventh-victim]

Lis Beyer or Ise Gropius seated in a steel chair created by Marcel Breuer 1926 (photo: Erich Consemuller)

[c86]

Erich Consemüller - Bauhaus Scene, 1926

Lis Beyer or Ise Gropius in Marcel Breuer’s Club Chair, Model B3, wearing a mask by Oskar Schlemmer and a dress in fabric designed by Lis Beyer