Founded in Weimar, Germany, by Walter Gropius in 1919, the Bauhaus was a school of art, design, and architecture that promoted a closer alliance between the fine and applied arts. Annelise Fleischmann became a student there in 1922 and quickly fell sway to the ideas first published in 1908 by the art historian Wilhelm Worringer that an art work could be a "visual resting place." She regarded straight lines and systematized abstract form as a means of providing the clarity and serenity she felt were absent in nature and lacking in other aspects of human life. She also made materials for everyday use that were more direct in appearance and purely functional than the ornate decorative objects of her youth.
			Anni Albers Untitled Wallhanging, 1924 Cotton and silk, 169.6 x 100.3 cm (66 13/16 x 39 _ in.) The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Bethany, Connecticut © 2000 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Bethany, Connecticut/Artists Rights Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Photo: Tim Nighswander