Wendingen (Hardcover, illustrated edition)

With its first issue in January of 1918 Wendingen set a new standard in arts publishing. The pioneering journal sought out the newest ideas by the most creative practitioners in all of the visual arts--architecture, graphics, typography, sculpture, ceramics, glass, and theatrical design--and then reproduced them in sumptuous, hand-bound editions of unparalleled beauty. Over its fourteen-year history, Wendingen, which translates roughly as "upheaval," featured the work of such diverse artists as Gustav Klimt, Josef Hoffmann, Eileen Gray, and Erich Mendelsohn. It introduced the work of Frank Lloyd Wright to European audiences in a series of seven issues published in 1925 and 1926. But it is best known for its covers, ranging in style from the art nouveau to the constructivist to the art deco, all of which are reproduced here in color. In this first comprehensive study of this extraordinary magazine, Le Coultre gives students, scholars, and collectors access to this now scarce magazine. He also calls long-overdue attention to the role of Wendingen's founding editor, Hendricus Theodorus Wijedveld, in shaping the course of modern design.