In spring 1923, Adolf Meyer, associate master at the Staatliches Bauhaus and head of Walter Gropius' architectural office, designed the living room of his rented flat as a work of spatial art under the motto »ET IN ARCADIA EGO«. Two wall paintings by Oskar Schlemmer and Werner Gilles took centre stage. Hinnerk Scheper was responsible for the colour scheme of the room, while the ceiling light is attributed to Adolf Meyer himself.
Photos: Tobias Adam
Rediscovery and restoration
The murals were long considered lost, but their rediscovery a few years ago was a sensation in Bauhaus research, driven forward by the BAUHAUS.WEIMAR.MODERNE Die Kunstfreunde e.V. association.
Due to its rarity and high degree of authenticity, the design of the living room is a unique and important testimony to the Bauhaus in Weimar and was entered in the register of monuments of the Free State of Thuringia.
In August 2020, the Kulturrat Thüringen moved into the Weimarer Wohnstätte's extensively renovated offices in the former Meyer flat, preserving the artistic heritage and carefully introducing this special modernist living space to the public.
Symposium
In October 2023, the Thuringian State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology, the Directorate of Museums of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar and the International Heritage Centre of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar organised the symposium »Verborgenes Bauhaus« on the rediscovered wall paintings in the living room of Bauhaus master Adolf Meyer in Weimar.
The event was part of the »Living« theme year of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar.