Schools of Industrial Art or Art Trade Schools
The Kunstgewerbeschulen are schools of art. The causes leading to their inception are clearly set forth in a paragraph contained in the 1902 Report of the United States Commissioner of Labor. It reads:
“The international museums of 1851, 1855 and 1862, in England, Austria and Germany, respectively called attention to the fact that with all their technical excellence the industrial products of Germany possessed few qualities of artistic finish and design. France showed what could be done in this direction. Her products easily held first rank in this respect, her eminence being the result of centuries of training in this field. Since Colbert’s time industrial art education has been emphasized in the training of French workmen, and the accumulated skill and taste due to this training, has left its impress on French products. The German states at once set about to remedy this weakness in this respect, and since that time have so persistently established museums and schools for industrial art training that now there is no important city in the Empire which does not possess one or more of these institutions”.
Considerable variety exists among the various types of art schools and even among those belonging in the same class and separated as to location we find differences. In Leipzig, Saxony, for example the Kunstgewerbeschule aims at the graphic arts mainly. In Berlin, Dresden, Carlsruhe, and certain other cities these schools train for sculptors and painters, and the term “Akademie” is frequently applied to these institutions. They are in fact, art trade schools whose main purpose, while yet industrial, is also the instilling of an artistic feeling into industrial work. They reach on and out from the trade school and up to the institutions for the teaching of the fine arts. They are then a middle grade of applied art schools.
The genesis of the industrial art schools really lies in the establishment of museums of industrial art. The museums were an inspiring and energizing force, for here the best work could be exhibited and studied. The municipality and general government financed the movement for the museums. Schools sprang up in connection with the museums and later, independent art schools were established.
A moderate fee is charged those who pursue work here, twenty to forty marks yearly. Candidates must have had practical experience in the line of work they propose to take up, and both these schools and the so-called industrial drawing courses assume a certain proficiency on the part of the candidates; a proficiency in general subjects and in drawing particularly. An examination is given those who cannot present the desired credentials. The length of the courses in these schools is usually three years. The classes are both day and evening, 8 A. M. to 4 P. M. and from 5 to 10 P. M. In some instances Sunday sessions are held also.
The courses consist of architectural designing in wood and metal, metal engraving and chasing, modeling, steel engraving and etching, design for fabrics, pattern designing, artistic embroidery, decorative painting, enamel painting, designing and painting figures and plants. The work throughout is both theoretical and practical in its nature, the instruction gained in the class being applied in the shop. The subjects of instruction and time devoted to each differ according to the course pursued. As an example of the programme offered, the following, taken from the architectural draftsman’s course in the Munich school is given; the figures show the number of hours per week devoted to each subject.
The Bauschule are only for those who wish proficiency in architectural studies.
What the Industrial Hall at Carlsruhe, the Industrial Art Museum at Berlin, and the National Museum at Munich are to the art schools proper, the open drawing halls are to the industrial drawing courses. Here, as in the museums, are kept models and designs of rare merit and students may pursue work under competent instruction. Such halls are established in Bavaria, Hesse, Prussia, Saxony and Wurttemberg.