Das Wunder Des Lebens, Ausstelung Berlin 1935, 23. März bis 5. Mai. Unpaginated, 12 ff. Illustrated throughout by Bayer. Small 4to., 210 x 210 mm, bound in publisher’s illustrated wrappers. Berlin: [Verlag nicht ermittelbar], 1935.
A genuinely rare work by Herbert Bayer, created at the peak of his career as a graphic designer. It was during this period, from 1928-38, that Arthur Cohen notes ‘For want of a more technically accurate formulation, Bayer invented a graphic design that was open, free and endlessly adaptable. Foregoing dogmatism and doctrine, the issue of design became one of establishing an instantly comprehensible visual communication.’ (Cohen, Herbert Bayer, p. 220).
The pamphlet, not to be mistaken for the guide book of the same name, was created to advertise the famous Das Wunder Des Lebens exhibition first held in Berlin in 1935 to propagate Nazi ideals of human health and wellness. It is this unfortunate subject matter that is brought to life by Bayer’s brilliance as he deploys deft use of photomontage, surreal airbrushed imagery and a touch of the classical.
A near fine copy of this fragile pamphlet. Exceedingly rare with OCLC failing to find a copy in the US. It does, however, appear in the collection of the MOMA and the Harvard Art Museum.
Cohen, Herbert Bayer, p. 220.
