Lutz:Sophie Taeuber

Sophie Taeuber (1889-1943) is world-famous as a pioneer of abstract art. One of the lesser-known aspects of her extremely varied work is her early activity as a designer for the textile industry. Growing up in Trogen, not far from the Swiss "textile capital" of St. Gallen, she learnt various textile techniques as a child. In St. Gallen, she attended the private Stauffacher School from 1904 to 1905 and the Drawing School for Industry and Trade from 1907 to 1910, both of which trained specialists for the local textile industry. From 1910 to 1914, she continued her training at Wilhelm von Debschitz's teaching and experimental studios for applied and fine arts in Munich and at the Hamburg School of Arts and Crafts. As early as 1916, she taught design and embroidery herself at the arts and crafts department of the Zurich School of Applied Arts, and this book now focuses on Sophie Taeuber's early textile work. It sheds light on her origins and training in eastern Switzerland and contextualises newly discovered designs for the eastern Swiss textile industry and for homeworkers in the Bernese Oberland who made bobbin lace. It also looks at Taeuber's avant-garde design processes, for which she also drew inspiration from historical textiles. This attractively designed volume fills a gap in the literature on this outstanding artist.