The Condition and Tendencies of Technical Education in Germany Part 5

VI

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 acc.u.mulated 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 inst.i.tutions".

Considerable variety exists among the various types of art schools and even among those belonging in the same cla.s.s 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 inst.i.tutions. 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 inst.i.tutions 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 munic.i.p.ality 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 a.s.sume 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 cla.s.ses 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 cla.s.s 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.

First year, linear drawing 7 ornament drawing 9 modelling of ornament and of the human figure 21 history of art 1 style 1 geometry and projections 3

Second year, architectural drawing 7 drawing and modeling of the human figure and modeling of ornaments 20 history of art 1 style 1 perspective and shadows 2 anatomy, xylography, architecture, sculpture, or chasing 10

Third year, architectural drawing 7 drawing and modeling of the human figure and modeling of ornaments 10 anatomy 1 xylography, architecture, sculpture or chasing 24

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.

In these art courses skill and originality are aimed at equally. The relation existing between the art work and the trade or industry with which it is connected is such as to make more valuable the latter.

It is needless to speak further of the museums. The art products there exhibited give much incentive to students, as well as a feeling for the best from the standpoint of the beautiful and artistic, and all who visit them are consciously or unconsciously influenced for the better.

The following table shows the distribution of industrial art schools throughout the various States.

_Alsace-Lorraine_, Mulhausen, Strasburg.

_Anhalt_, Dessau.

_Baden_, Carlsruhe, Pforzheim.

_Bremen_, _Bavaria_, Kaiserslautern, Munich, Nuremberg.

_Hamburg_, _Hesse_, Mentz, Offenbach.

_Prussia_, Aix-la-Chappelle, Barmen, Berlin, Breslau, Ca.s.sel, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Elberfeld, Frankfort-on the-Main, Hanau, Hanover, Iserlohn, Konigsberg, Magdeburg.

_Saxony_, Dresden, Leipzig, Plauen.

_Wurttemberg_, Stuttgart.

VII

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beobachtungen und Vergleiche uber Einrichtungen fur Gewerbliche Erziehung, 1901.--Dr. G. Kerschensteiner.

Das Gewerbeschulwesen.--Carl Melchior.

Denkschriften uber die Entwickelung der Gewerblichen Fachschulen und der Fortbildungsschulen in Preussen.--Luders.

Encyklopadisches Handbuch der Padagogik.--W. Rein.

English Technical Instruction Commission, 1896. Report on the Recent Progress of Technical Education in Germany.

Fortbildungsschule in unserer Zeit.--J. B. Meyer.

German Higher Schools.--James E. Russell.

German Technical Schools, 1901.--Victor C. Alderson.

Gewerbliche Fortbildungsschulen Deutschlands.--R. Nagel.

Handworterbuch der Staatswissenschaften, 1900.--Conrad.

Hoherer Polytechnischer Unterricht in Deutschland, etc.--Carl Koristka.

Industrial Education.--Philip Magnus.

Jahresbericht der Koniglichen Industrieschule und Baugewerkschule zu Munchen, 1898-1899.

Jahresbericht der Technischen Staatslehranstalten zu Chemnitz, 1890.

Jahresbericht uber die Berliner Fortbildungsschule, 1890-1891.

Kunstgewerbe als Beruf, 1901.

Note on the Earlier History of the Technical High Schools in Germany.--A. E. Twentyman.

Special Reports on Educational Subjects, London, 1902, Vol. 9, page 465.

Paches' Handbook, 1899.

Problems in Prussian Secondary Education for Boys.--Michael E. Sadler.

Special Reports on Educational Subjects, London, 1898, Vol. 3.

Programm der Koniglichen Fachschule zu Iserlohn Metal Industrie.

Report of the United States Commissioner of Education, 1889-1890, page 1209-1212.

Same, 1894-1895, Vol. 1, page 345-380.

Supplementary and Industrial Schools in Germany.