The Bauhaus& The Grand BudapesT hoTel

By paTrick GosnellmodernismsprinG 2014850 words

B orn in the years of the Weimar Republic, the Bauhaus

synthesized craft and form into a new type of design

education. In the process, the school had to overcome many

obstacles, including shifting ideologies, public critique, and political

turmoil. However, the Bauhaus succeeded in becoming a highly

influential design institution, instilling in all who attended a sense of

Gesamtkunstwerk, meaning a “total work of art binding different forms

of creative endeavor together” (Dickerman 27).

Since 1996, Wes Anderson has directed a slew of impeccable films, all

of which balance quick-witted slapstick with corresponding pathos. The

maturation of Anderson’s unmistakable style has labeled him one of

the newest cinematic auteurs (fig. 1). His most recent film, The Grand

Budapest Hotel (TGBH), recounts the tale of M. Gustave, the punctilious

concierge of the titular establishment, and his protégé, Zero Mustafa.

The film swiftly fuses all of Anderson’s telltale traits (deadpan dialogue,

eccentric characters, mannered camera movements) with acuity and

swagger—his own Gesamtkunstwerk. Wes Anderson connoisseurs

acknowledge the director’s penchant for literary and historical

references, though an immediate comparison of his directorial oeuvre

to the Bauhaus may seem a bit tenuous. To be certain, there are some

perceptible similarities in visual style between the two.

Fig. 1 — director wes anderson has directed films such as Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Moonrise Kingdom. (image courtesy of washingtonpost.com)

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Fig. 2 — wes anderson films are known for their distinctive centered framing, shown here in the montage video, “Wes Anderson // Centered” by Vimeo user, kogonada. (images courtesy of vimeo.com)

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The Bauhaus’ distinct use of a grid is one of its most definable

characteristics, matched in all of his films by Anderson’s frequent use

of perfectly centered framing (fig. 2). Anderson also commonly uses

tracking shots that move parallel to the main action of a scene (fig. 3).

This lateral motion is reminiscent of the work of De Stijl artist Theo van

Doesburg, who favored a strong use of horizontal and vertical lines (fig.

4). Although van Doesburg was not a Bauhaus faculty member, he lived

in Weimar and exerted a palpable influence on its students (Siebenbrodt

17). These correlations could lead to the assertion that Anderson takes

his cues on balance and motion from the Bauhaus school. However,

other more superficial traits lead to the breakdown of this hypothesis.

Two of the strongest graphic devices to develop from the Bauhaus

were the focus on the primary colors—red, blue, and yellow—and the

dominant use of sans-serif typefaces. Paul Renner, who did not teach

at the Bauhaus but was nevertheless influenced by its ideals, created a

geometric typeface called Futura (fig. 5). This typeface was prominently

featured in all of Anderson’s early films (fig. 6), but has been eschewed

for a broader typographic range, which now includes hand lettering by

Jessica Hische for Moonrise Kingdom (Booth) and Archer for TGBH

(fig. 7). And though both are known for their distinctive use of color,

Anderson has adopted a vibrant palette of lush pastels (fig. 8), whereas

Fig. 3 — scenes from the montage video, “Wes Anderson // From Above” by kogonada, highlighting anderson’s extensive use of flat tracking shots, which ascribe to the same grid logic found in much of the work created at the Bauhaus. (images courtesy of vimeo.com)

Fig. 4 — “Composition” (1923) by Theo van doesburg

(image courtesy of wikipaintings.org)

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Fig. 5 — Futura typeface, designed by paul renner, 1927 (image courtesy of wikipedia.com); Fig. 6 — wes anderson used Futura almost exclusively in his first six films. (image courtesy of alexannmayberry.blogspot.com); Fig. 7 — anderson has broken the typographic pattern for his last two films, using archer, designed by h&FJ, for the promotional materials for The Grand Budapest Hotel (image courtesy of slate.com)

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

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the Bauhaus stuck to primaries and grayscale (fig. 9). Indeed, to focus

solely on the veneer of the Bauhaus and Anderson’s films would produce

a false positive in their association. A deeper critique is necessary, of the

relationships, aspirations, and demise found in TGBH and the Bauhaus,

to uncover the true linkage of the modernist avant-garde and the

idiosyncratic auteur.

The characters and relationships in TGBH form several parallels to

the inhabitants of the Bauhaus. For example, both Walter Gropius and

M. Gustave, the fastidious caretakers of the buildings in their charge,

believe wholeheartedly in the merit of their institutions (figs. 10 – 11).

Even after his exit as director of the Bauhaus, Gropius continues to

promote the ethics of the school around the world (Neumann 16).

Likewise, M. Gustave remotely directs the operations of his hotel from

prison after being accused of murder. Classes at the Bauhaus operate

under the master-apprentice model, a frequent motif in Anderson’s films.

In TGBH, M. Gustave takes Zero Mustafa under his wing and trains

him to be a first-rate lobby boy. Zero’s education is rapid and hands-on,

akin to the marriage of craft and form taught at the Bauhaus.

Antinational aspirations and a devastating conflict with fascism describe

the clipped trajectories of both the Bauhaus and TGBH. Bauhaus designs

sought a universal approach, avoiding visual ties to particular countries

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

Fig. 10 Fig. 11

Fig. 8 — (image courtesy of wesandersonpalettes.tumblr.com); Fig. 9 — poster of the Bauhaus exhibition, 1923, by herbert Bayer; Fig. 10 — walter Gropius, 1928 (image courtesy Bauhaus-archiv Berlin); Fig. 11 — ralph Fiennes as m. Gustave in The Grand Budapest Hotel. (image courtesy of literaryvittles.wordpress.com)

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(Dickerman 23). Examples include Herbert Bayer’s universal typeface

and banknotes for the Thuringia region (figs. 12 – 13), both flaunting

a notable lack of serifs. Anderson also seems keen on cutting ties to

existing geographic locations, seeing them as distractions for his lavish

tableaus. TGBH is set in the fictional country of Zubrowka during the

onset of World War II. Finally, as the saddest correlation of all, both

TGBH and the Bauhaus meet their demise at the hands of fascist forces

(fig. 14). The Bauhaus eventually houses Nazi leaders (Forgács 197,

Siebenbrodt 193), and the fanciful hotel is commandeered by Anderson’s

Zig-Zags (fig. 15). Though the marauding events fail to destroy either

entity completely, neither retains the fervor with which they once operated.

There are many stylistic and substantive elements in Wes Anderson’s

films that relate to the ideology of the Bauhaus. It helps that the

Bauhaus’ story is so cinematic—like a Greek tragedy full of good design.

Both the school and the director speak of a broken world, full of darkness

and of dreamers looking for perfection in the details. At the end of

TGBH, Zero Mustafa sums up his mentor, M. Gustave (though he could

just as easily be speaking of Walter Gropius): “He sustained the illusion

with a marvelous grace.”

Fig. 12

Fig. 13

Fig. 12 — universal typeface design by herbert Bayer, 1926 (image courtesy of Bauhaus-archiv Berlin); Fig. 13 — herbert Bayer also designed emergency currency for the Thuringian government with sans-serif type, as opposed to the more traditional German blackletter type. (image courtesy of Bauhaus-archiv Berlin)

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Works Cited

Booth, Darren. “Moonrise Kingdom Titles and Credits: Jessica Hische.”

Typographic Design. DesignEnvy, 19 Apr. 2012. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

Dickerman, Leah. “Bauhaus Fundaments.” Bauhaus 1919 – 1933:

Workshops for Modernity. New York: MoMA, 2009. 21 – 27. Print.

Forgács, Éva. The Bauhaus Idea and Bauhaus Politics. Trans. John Bátki.

Budapest: CEU Press, 1995. 196 – 199. Print.

The Grand Budapest Hotel. Dir. Wes Anderson. Perf. Ralph Fiennes,

Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Tony Revolori and

Edward Norton. Indian Paintbrush, 2014. Film.

Neumann, Eckhard, ed. Bauhaus and Bauhaus People. Trans.

Eva Richter. New York: Reinhold, 1970. 15 – 17. Print.

Siebenbrodt, Michael and Lutz Schöbe. Bauhaus: 1919 – 1933 Weimar-

Dessau-Berlin. New York: Parkstone Press, 2009. 17 – 97, 193. Print.

Fig. 14

Fig. 15

Fig. 14 — after the closing of the Bauhaus in dessau, the nazi regime

used the building as a minister training school, 1935 (image courtesy

of Bauhaus-archiv Berlin); Fig. 15 — in the film’s climax, The Grand Budapest Hotel is overrun

by hostile “Zig-Zag” forces. (image courtesy of hollywoodreporter.com)

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